Nigeria Content Online

Convinced that Space Science is
critical in the development of any nation, Nigeria has completed work
in the building of two more earth observation satellites, NigeriaSat 2
and Nigeria Sat X, said Seidu Mohammed, the Director General of
National Space Research and Development Agency, NASRDA.

Mr. Mohammed, who stated that the
satellites will be due for launch on October 2010, adding that
specifically, the Nigeria Sat X was designed and built by 27 Nigerian
Engineers.

“Satellite projects, like building
projects, are in phases. We have finished most of the phases. The
spacecraft are now ready. The Nigerian engineers were there to design
and implement Sat X and they have done that and are back home.

“The next stage is to move the
satellite to the site for launch. It takes a lot of time, the launching
company has to look through its programme, get itself ready and by
October, the satellite will be launched,” he said.

He further stated when the two
satellites are eventually launched, they will impact positively on
agriculture, defence, and almost all other sectors of the Nigerian
economy.

“The fact that Nigerian Engineers
designed and built Sat X brings confidence into us that it is possible
here. We are going to provide data for efficient agriculture all over
Nigeria, and the launch of Sat 2 with 2.5m resolution enables all
cities to go ahead with cadastral plan to have information to increase
their revenue, as Lagos State is doing now, and provide enough
information about cultural development in terms of soil
characterisation, water resources development, road corridor selection,
and so on,” Mr. Mohammed said.

He also noted that Nigeria’s foray into
the space science and technology world has enabled the development of a
critical mass of space engineers, revealing that 15 engineers were
trained for NigeriaSat, which will expire by December 2010. 54 were
trained for NIGCOMSAT-1, while 27 were trained for Sat 2 and Sat X,
with an additional 25 Scientists trained in geospatial application.

He added that it was only right for
Nigeria to build its own satellite, considering the huge capital
outflow to source satellite data. He said that today, space
technologies have become integrated into everyday life, so deeply that
modern and traditional societies cannot function without them.

“Survey conducted by NASRDA in 2004
showed that capital out-flow paid by African countries for their
international telephone traffic is about $445 million per year, hence
making tariff on communications the highest in Africa than in any other
continent. Nigeria alone pays as much as $200 million per year to lease
satellite transponders,” he said.

The Director General insisted that the space technology will help in addressing some environmental concerns in Nigeria.

“As a result of recent trends of
earthquake in Haiti, Chile, Japan, and China and recent trends in
crustal deformation in Nigeria, as evident by tremors in the country
and continuous monitoring of Ife-Wara-Zungeru faults in Nigeria, the
International Astronomy Agency, IAA, has approved the first expert
study for Africa at the request of NASRDA,” he said.

“By this request, IAA is expected to put experts together all over
the world to study the equatorial plane for the benefit of the
countries within the equatorial region.”