Ghana launches its first satellite into space
Saved under Ghana, Headline, News, Technology, WESTERN AFRICA
Tags: All Nations University, Ghana, GhanaSat-1, International Space Centre, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Koforidua
Please follow & like us :)
The development team behind the satellite
Ghana has successfully launched its first satellite into space.
GhanaSat-1, which was developed by students at All Nations University in Koforidua, was sent into orbit from the International Space Centre.
Cheers erupted as 400 people, including the engineers, gathered in the southern Ghanaian city to watch live pictures of the launch. The first signal was received shortly afterwards.
It is the culmination of a two-year project, costing $50,000 (£40,000).
It received support from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
The satellite will be used to monitor Ghana’s coastline for mapping purposes, and to build capacity in space science and technology.
Project coordinator Dr Richard Damoah said it marked a new beginning for the country.
“It has opened the door for us to do a lot of activities from space,” he told the BBC.
He said it would “also help us train the upcoming generation on how to apply satellites in different activities around our region.
“For instance, [monitoring] illegal mining is one of the things we are looking to accomplish.”
New Zealand and Ghana have both launched objects into space this year, such a strange time for small nations
New Zealand actually launched a rocket from its own soil. Ghana contracted with SpaceX.
Congratulations! Another nation joins the space club. That makes them the 78th nation to have sent up a satellite. Though only 12 nations have sent up sattellites on their own rockets
We proud of you, Ghana.
I’d love to visit Ghana one day. My dad went over there to work as an engineer, to help them when they built their highways. He loved it.
He also got me my first hand drum while there, a djembe. After learning on that drum, I picked up a ton of other types of drums from around the world. I’ve since played New Orleans Jazz fest a couple times, and other Mardi Gras Indian events, that are based off of West African rhythms.
With all of the great things happening there, and the influence it’s had on my life, it’s definitely on my bucket list.
It’s amazing. I went for 2 months last Summer to volunteer (not voluntourism, we raised all the money ourselves and paid our own flights, accommodation etc) to build an income generating poultry farm for a school. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done!
People are so friendly and welcoming and really curious. There’s lots of beautiful things to see and plenty of history and culture. In a remote area near the Ivory Coast border, there’s a village built on stilts in a lake you can canoe to and it was magical. There’s also some really great places to party or see wildlife. The most interesting place I went was Cape Coast, where there’s an old slave Castle with really informative tours – very harrowing but something that needs to be seen. The small community we stayed in was really nice too! I recommend it completely. Such a chilled place.
Ghana is great. The citizens are very respectful (sometimes overwhelmingly so) to foreigners. In most of the country people have a good grasp on English and are easy to communicate with if you do not understand Twi. There are also many foreigners (Chinese, Lebanese, Spain, Italians, Dutch, etc) so you will not feel out of place. There are beautiful savannas and wetlands as well as the Ocean. I’d recommend visiting the old slave castles in Cape Coast. Also in Osu (Ghana’s New York city) there is bustling night life. You can go clubbing from dinner time through 4am then grab some Waakye (rice and bean dish) after. Champs sports bar is a great option. Overall i would highly recommend visiting Ghana and spending as much time as you can exploring and just talking to people. The culture here is rich. Source: Am half Ghanaian. I am an American citizen but I am staying in Ghana with family over the summer ??
250M for the total launch which included other satellites, Ghana only spent around 50 grand for their own cubesat
I can’t find any real info about this launch. Was it their own rocket? Did they just buy a spot on another launch? I saw another article claim this was a $250M project altogether.
I need facts!
It was an American rocket but the satellite was made in Ghana