African nations join the space race

{"text":[[{"start":5.48,"text":"As a boy in rural Senegal, the closest that Gayane Faye could get to the stars was wandering beneath them with his family flocks or watching rockets being launched on TV."}],[{"start":15.24,"text":"Since then he has helped Senegal into space, one of a growing number of pioneering African scientists looking to the heavens to solve their countries’ problems on Earth."}],[{"start":24,"text":"Almost 20 African countries have satellites in orbit, with several more setting up budding space programmes."}],[{"start":30.02,"text":"This year, African nations will collectively spend more than $800mn on space projects, almost double what they were spending two years ago. The African Union even set up the African Space Agency last year to improve co-ordination and share best practices."}],[{"start":44.84,"text":"The continent was bypassed in the early years of the space race in the 20th century, but it is now betting that satellites will be able to collect reams of data on everything from weather and wars to crops and cattle. This will be invaluable in helping information-starved governments understand the countries they run."}],[{"start":61.96,"text":"It helps that much of the kit the continent needs no longer has to be cutting-edge and is increasingly affordable. Using launch companies abroad, Botswana and Uganda have sent satellites to scour soils for minerals and warn of droughts and wildfires. Angola is using a communications satellite to connect scattered villages across its vast interior while the arid country of Djibouti is now monitoring its water levels from space."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":85.84,"text":"This means that scientists no longer need to waste time and money travelling to scattered sensors to download data, while demographers, agronomists, urban planners and meteorologists will have access to far more information, helping them to save lives and strengthen infrastructure by identifying flood-prone areas, for example."}],[{"start":103.68,"text":"“They want sovereign access to data,” said Temidayo Oniosun, an analyst who runs the consultancy Space in Africa. He says that buying high-quality satellite imagery from the handful of mainly western corporations that have cornered the market can be extremely expensive and that requests from countries under sanction by the US or the EU can be turned down entirely."}],[{"start":123.76,"text":"Some nations have come far in only a few years. Senegal, which sent up its first satellite two years ago to relay environmental data, with three more in the works, has decided to go all-in. “It is above all an economic question,” said Faye, who has led the Senegalese satellite effort."}],[{"start":140.48,"text":"The first satellite, GaindeSat-1A, cost roughly $1mn to build — a figure that includes the first-time costs of setting up the equipment for a fully functional space station. By the time Faye builds the fourth satellite in the constellation, he expects the cost per satellite to be one-tenth of that."}],[{"start":158.24,"text":"He is putting together a proposal for a constellation of between six and 12 satellites equipped with cameras — a project that would benefit more than 70 institutions in Senegal alone that rely on blurry pictures provided free-of-charge that are often useless."}],[{"start":173.6,"text":"Faye argues that with better imagery, even tasks as simple as estimating how much food will be produced every season can be dramatically improved because it will be possible to track farmers’ fields and herds from above."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":186.62,"text":"There are technical reasons why Africa has begun to catch up. It is easier than ever for scientists to learn to build and operate satellites. Nanosatellites, which are smaller and cheaper than more sophisticated satellites, offer a simpler gateway to experiment and develop skills without breaking the bank or risking the destruction of a multimillion-dollar project with a misplaced screw. They cost as little as $50,000, and weigh less than a bag of flour."}],[{"start":212.36,"text":"“You can make mistakes with them and it is OK,” said Taiwo Tejumola, a Nigerian satellite engineer. He trained in Japan and says smaller satellites provide a straightforward way for more advanced countries to pass along knowledge to those eager to learn. “They are a very good first step to build space capabilities,” he added."}],[{"start":231.28,"text":"This is how cash-strapped Senegal took its orbital baby steps. It sent engineers and technicians to the University of Montpellier, where they built their first satellite with the coaching and technology provided by French engineers. Now, they are building the second without hands-on coaching. Faye said the third will be assembled in Senegal and the technology on the fourth will be fully homegrown."}],[{"start":253.22,"text":"But lurking behind every starry-eyed scientist are harder political questions. China, which has specialised in building more sophisticated satellites and ground infrastructure, has been busy offering assistance. Europe, Russia and Japan have also been jostling with offers of technical training, technological assistance and other means of co-operation."}],[{"start":271.88,"text":"“There is geopolitics involved at every level,” said Julie Klinger at the University of Wisconsin, adding that African countries have tended to go with whichever of their many suitors can offer them the best package. “It is a very competitive marketplace,” she said. “There is a sense that they do not have to go with the first offer.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":292.56,"text":"It is often case-by-case. China offers competitive rates when building or selling satellites and infrastructure. It certainly helps that it is willing to provide low-interest loans as sweeteners. France and Japan have research institutions, such as the International Space University in Strasbourg and the Kyushu Institute of Technology, which have historically been among the first ports-of-call for satellite-curious scientists."}],[{"start":314.12,"text":"Geography enhances Africa’s strategic significance too. For example, South Africa’s location at the tip of the southern hemisphere has made it particularly valuable for supporting polar-orbiting satellites launched from other countries. Djibouti has turned itself into a prime rocket launch site. Europe keeps tabs on its launches from French Guiana in South America from a ground station across the Atlantic in Gabon. China has installations in Kenya and Namibia which the Americans claim are critical nodes for managing military satellites."}],[{"start":344.6,"text":"It’s unlikely that the momentum will slow. Some African countries, for example Malawi, have even set up space programmes without any public plans to go into orbit. “You don’t want to be left alone,” said Oniosun, who points out that it makes sense to centralise expertise."}],[{"start":360,"text":"Africa still has far to go before it catches up with the rest of the world. But the only way is up. “We are allowed to dream,” said Faye, when asked whether Senegal could eventually put a man in space. He quickly checked himself: “We are very ambitious, but we try to keep our ambition measured.”"}],[{"start":376.48,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787553437_6019.mp3"}