The Federal Government has unveiled plans to send Nigeria’s first citizen into space.
The Director General of the National Space Research and Development Agency, Mathew Adepoju, made this announcement during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
Adepoju highlighted that the Federal Government has formalized an agreement through a Memorandum of Understanding with NASRDA and the Space Exploration and Research Agency.
“This collaboration, which is coming to the country, marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s 25th anniversary of Space Exploration journey and opens new opportunities for scientific research and technological advancement,” he stated.
Nigeria has been dedicated to space exploration since 1999, following the establishment of NASRDA.
The agency has successfully launched several satellites, with the most recent being NigeriaSat-X in 2011.
NASRDA was founded on May 5, 1999, after initial preparations by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Nigerian government, with an initial budget of $93 million.
The agency’s main goal was to develop space science and technology policies.
In May 2006, an extended national space program was adopted. Since its inception, NASRDA has launched four satellites, the first in 2003 and the latest in 2009.
Nigeria’s inaugural satellite, NigeriaSat-1, was launched on September 27, 2003.
On August 17, 2011, a replacement, NigeriaSat-2, along with NigeriaSat-X, was launched from the Yasny military base in Russia.
NigeriaSat-2 was noted as the most powerful imaging spacecraft ever deployed.
On May 13, 2007, Nigeria launched Africa’s first communications satellite, NigComsat-1, at a cost of $300 million. After it deorbited on November 11, 2008, a replacement, NigComsat-1R, was launched on December 19, 2011.
The total cost for both satellites, including launch and insurance, was $48.4 million, with NigeriaSat-1 costing $13 million.
Both NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X were designed with a seven-year lifespan.
In 2014, NigeriaSat-1 was decommissioned six years after exceeding its design life. Engineers and scientists from NASRDA executed a controlled reentry, burning up the satellite in Earth’s atmosphere.
