Determined to firm up its drive towards technological advancement, especially in relation to Information Communications Technology (ICT), Nigeria will Wednesday launch two satellites in faraway Russia after several postponements. The launch was earlier scheduled for July 7.
Although THISDAY gathered that the construction and launch of the satellites cost Nigeria N17.42 billion, the Head of Media and Corporate Affairs of National Space Research and Development Agency (NARSDA), Mr. Felix Ale, however declined to comment on the cost. He insisted that only the Director General, Seidu Mohammed, who is currently in Russia for the launch could comment on the cost.
One unique feature of this launch is that an experimental satellite built wholly by Nigerian engineers and known as Nigeria Sat X will also be launched at the same time with the earth observation satellite called NigeriaSat2.
NigeriaSat X operated by Nigerian engineers and scientists has a 2.5-metre high spatial resolution sensor as a strength point. The Nigerian professionals who trained abroad were said to have successfully designed and built the experimental satellite called NigeriaSat-X.
The second satellite, NigeriaSat2, is currently in its seventh year in orbit and is a follow-up to the manifestation of the technological innovation behind the design and implementation of the satellite system called NigeriaSat-1 which was launched on September 27, 2003 with a lifespan of five years.
The satellite is a medium resolution multi-spectral low orbiting sun synchronous satellite. It is part of the world-wide Disaster Monitoring Constellation System. Images of the country obtained from the satellite are beamed back to the control station for use by the government.
It can be used for demography such as mapping and planning of population surveys, census enumeration areas, as well as mapping, planning and monitoring of rural and urban growth and to also give advance warnings of natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and storms.