NigeriaSat –1 launched

Nigeria’s first satellite was launched into the orbit at 0712 hours on 27 September, 2003. The device, which is christened NigeriaSat – 1 was launched from the Plesetsk Launching Pad in Northern Russia.

With the launch of NigeriaSat – 1, Nigeria is the third African country to have a presence in the orbit after South Africa and Algeria. Though the satellite was launched from Russia it will be managed from the National Space Research and Development Agency in Abuja, and staffed by 15 Nigerian scientists.

Nigeria is thus joining the Disaster Monitoring Constellation system, which does remote monitoring of the earth to give advance warnings of natural disasters like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and storms.

The satellite will also be used as a labour saving way of monitoring water, mineral and forest resources. Other countries incorporated into this monitoring system are Algeria, China, Turkey, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

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