Uganda will launch its first satellite on Sunday, November 6 at midday, Bony Omara, one of the Ugandan engineers collaborating with the program has announced.
“It is time for Ugandans to utilise technology at the highest level ever. Kudos to H.E the President,” Omara tweeted.
The satellite named PearlAfricaSat-1 has been developed under the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project.
Uganda is among several African, Asian, and South American countries benefiting from the Birds Satellite project initiated in 2015 by the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan.
In 2019, three Ugandan engineers; Bonny Omara, Edgar Mujunu, and Derrick Tebusweke were enrolled at Kyushu Institute of Technology where they underwent training in space technology.
Upon development of the satellite, it was handed to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a U.S. government agency to conduct its launch into space after undergoing all required tests.
In a media interview earlier, Matia Kasaija, the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, said a ground station at Mpoma in the central Ugandan district of Mukono will receive data from the satellite.
"The data from this satellite will be used for meteorology, environmental monitoring, urban planning, mineral exploration, and disaster management, among others," the minister said.
