Kenya set to launch it's first satellite into space in May

Kenya is expected to launch it's first ever satellite made by Kenyans in Nairobi in four months.The satellite, which will be launched from the International Space Station, was developed by engineers from the University of Nairobi in collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) and costed about KSh 120 million.The development of the nanosatellite with a size of a 10 by 10 centimetre cube was mostly funded by the Japaneses and is expected to be delivered in International Space Station by March.From there it will be launched from Jaxa's robotic arm on the ISS, known as Kibo, in April or May."At Jaxa, we are committed to making every effort to prepare for the successful deployment of the Republic of Kenya's first satellite utilising the unique capability of the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” on the ISS," Koichi Wakata, the Jaxa ISS programme manager, said in a statement.According to UoN's engineer Dr Jackson Mwangi, the satellite was handed to Jaxa in Japan on Tuesday.“The 1KUNS-PF (1st Kenyan University Nano Satellite Precursor Flight) is the first satellite to be developed by Kenyans and first Satellite to be operated by a Kenyan University,” he said.The satellite will be used to monitor coastal areas, agriculture and for the future launch of a larger earth observation satellite.The satellite was developed through a programme known as KiboCUBE, launched in September 2015 by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Jaxa."This is a very exciting moment and an important step in UNOOSA's movement towards tangible initiatives in our capacity-building efforts. Innovative projects like KiboCUBE can achieve concrete results and have a real impact on space science and technology development for the benefit of all," said UNOOSA Director Simonetta Di Pippo.