JohnNjorogehopestobeanastronautwhenhegrowsup.Thesevenyear-oldKenyanboysaidthatflyingmustbeanexcitingjob.Hisinfluencecomesfromwatchingmoviesandplayingvideogames.
鈥淚wanttobeeitheranastronautorapilot.MyuncleisapilotandIhadtheopportunitytobeapassengerononeofhisdomesticflights.Myfavoritesubjectinschoolisscience,鈥漵aidNjoroge.
HisdreamsmayonedaycometrueasKenyawillsoonhaveitsfully-ownedspacecenterinApril2018.
ChinahaspartneredwithKenyainabidtoupgradeandrenovateKenya鈥檚SanMarcoSpaceCenter,previouslyknownastheLuigiBroglioSpaceCenter,locatedofftheKenyancoastlineinNgomenihillsnearMalindi.Economistsestimatetheupgradewillcostbetween$150millionto$400million.
InabriefinterviewbeforetravelingtoLondoninFebruary,Kenya鈥檚CabinetSecretaryforNationalTreasuryHenryRotichconfirmedthatthefundsarereadilyavailablefortherenovation.
鈥淚nitialfundsarebetween$150to$400million.Itmaygohigherwithtimeaslaborandpurchasecostscontinuetochange.Chinahasofferedthisamount.WecannotruleoutcollaborationswithChinainourspaceprograms.Thatwillautomaticallyhappenwithtime,鈥漵aidRotich.KenyaisexpectedtotakefullownershipfromItalyoftheItalianbuiltandmanagedSanMarcofacility,whichwasconstructedin1960.
ThedecisiontopartnerwithChinacomesatatimewhenthecountryissettolaunchitsfirstunmannedspaceflightbyendofJunethisyear.Theflightwillcarryanearthobservationsatellitewhichwillstudytheplanet鈥檚orbitalsystems,alongwithotherresearchanddevelopmentincludingenvironmentalandagriculturalissueslikehowtodealwithdrought.
Kenya鈥檚positionontheequatorgivesitagreatadvantagetoconducttheseimportantstudies.
Junelaunch
鈥淭hespacelaunchwillbethefirstindependentlaunchbyKenya.Soweexpectmanyeconomicandscientificbenefits.Withaspaceprogramalreadyinplace,themoveshouldbeeasy,butcertainmeasuresshouldbetakentoensuremaximumeconomicbenefitsforthecountry,鈥漵aidWilburOttichillo,Kenya鈥檚GovernorofVihigaCounty.Ottichillo,trainedinspacescience,isapioneerofKenya鈥檚nationalspacepolicyandstrategyandoneofthecountry鈥檚foremostarchitectsoftheproposedlaunch.
HealsochairedtheparliamentarycommitteethatsetuptheKenyaSpaceAgency(KENSA),whichleadstheKenyaSpaceProgramandencouragesinterestanddevelopmentinthesector.
鈥淭heItalianownedandoperatedSanMarcoSpaceCenterinMalindihasconducted28spacelaunchessince1983,鈥漵aidOttichillo,addingthatKenyahopetobeequalpartnerswithChinaintheirfuturespaceexplorations.
鈥淎samatteroffact,wehavespacescientistsinKenyawhohavebeentrainedinChinaandtheUnitedStates,鈥漵aidOttichillo.
HeconfirmedthelaunchwilltakeplaceinKenyainJune,sayingthattheaveragecostofsuchalaunchisbetween$100millionto$150million.
Thelaunchwillbemanagedbythecountry鈥檚militaryknownastheKenyaDefenseForces,whichtheUnitedNationsranksasoneofthetop20mostpowerfulmilitariesintheworld.
Ofthe28previouslylaunchedspacemissions,sixin2016,allwereunderthesupervisionoftheItalianSpaceAgency.Kenyanscientistspartneredinpreviouslaunchesbutinjuniorroles.
Fullownership
鈥淎draftpaperthatwasapprovedinearly2016,titledTheKenyaSpacePolicyandStrategyDraftPaper,pavesthewayforthisvitalmove,鈥漵aidOttichillo.
Heexplainedthatthespaceprogram,whichalreadyhasfourotherscheduledlaunchesplanneduptoJunenextyear,sawtheneedtotakeoverfullownershipoftheSanMarcoSpaceCenter.Ottichillosatinmanyparliamentarycommitteesthatspearheadedthismove.
HenotedthatthereisgreatimportancetomergeallspaceprogramsintooneandmakethemfullyKenyan.This,heexplained,willmakethecountry鈥檚spaceprogramwhollyindependentsoastoalsoreapgreateconomicbenefits.
KENSA,establishedin2017,ispartofthecountry鈥檚spaceprogramthatwillownthespacecenter.
Atthesametime,thecountryissettobuildasecondspacecenterthatwillmergewiththecurrentcenterunderthespaceprogram.AsiteontheCoastalRegionhasalreadybeenidentifiedfortheplannedconstructionsettobeginthisyear.
鈥淔orustoindustrializeasacountry,wehavetobeinnovative.Spaceexplorationandresearchwillsolveourcurrentprevailingproblemssuchasdroughtandinsecurity,鈥漵aidRotich.
Benefitsofsatellites
NickolasKimani,aKenyanlegalexpertonpolicyissueswithabackgroundinenvironmentalandnaturalresourcesissues,saidsatellitescanhelpwithspacetourism,landusemonitoringandmapping,meaningtheeconomywillprogressinthelongterm.
鈥淪omespacetechnologiescouldalsobeusedtofacilitateurbandevelopment,andsurveillanceforclimatechangesuchasflooding,soitcouldinfluenceinbetterwaysofaddressingfoodsecurity,鈥漢esaid.
Anotherexpertonpolicyimplementationconfirmedthatthecountryhasalreadyadheredtointernationaltreatiesandconventions.
DavidKikaya,whoonceservedasKenya鈥檚RepresentativetoUnitedNationsHumanSettlementsProgramandhaslinkstoseveralinternationalthinktanks,saidit鈥檚timeforKenyaandAfricatoexplorespacebenefits.Hewelcomedthelaunch.
鈥淭heOuterSpaceTreaty,[aninternationaltreatythatformsthebasisofinternationalspacelaw]governstheuseofouterspacebynations[and]allowsKenyatomakesuchamove.Thistreatyenablesspacetobeusedforpeacefulpurposes.Kenya鈥檚decisionwillencourageSouth-Southcooperationinscienceexploration,鈥漵aidKikaya.
Headdedthatimportantdataonagricultureanddemographicswillbecollectedwithaneffectivespaceprograminplace.
Speakingaboutthecostofthelaunch,GermanoMwabu,ProfessorofEconomicsattheUniversityofNairobiandaWorldBankConsultantforAfrica,saiditisasmallpercentageofKenya鈥檚grossdomesticproduct(GDP).
鈥淥urGDPcurrentstandsat$70billion.It[thesatellitelaunch]willbringmorereturnsinfuture,thoughgainsmaynotbefeltinstantly,鈥漢esaid.
Currently,Kenyahasincludedthislaunchaspartofitsagendaonadraftpapertoindustrializeby2030.TheVision2030draftpaperwaslaunchedalmosteightyearsagobyformerpresidentMwaiKibaki.
AmongsomeoftheissuesinthissectorthattheGovernmentisconsideringistheestablishmentofalocalacademytotrainfuturespacescientists,whichwillencouragepeopletojointhesector.
Othersub-SaharanAfricancountrieswithadvancedspaceprogramsincludeNigeria,SouthAfrica,Angola,GhanaandEthiopia,accordingtotheUnitedNationsDevelopmentProgram.
ReportingfromKenya
Forustoindustrializeasacountry,wehavetobeinnovative.Spaceexplorationandresearchwillsolveourcurrentprevailingproblemssuchasdroughtandinsecurity.
HenryRotichKenya鈥檚CabinetSecretaryforNationalTreasury