Ethiopia To Launch A Second Satellite in October With The Help of China

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Ethiopian Prime Minister at China Academy of Space Technology to inspect the ETRSS-1 satellite project.
Ethiopia plans to launch a second satellite into space in October 2020 with the help of China, Space in Africa gathers from a reliable source in Addis Ababa.


The satellite is a 6U nanosatellite with high resolution and developed in Ethiopia by engineers at the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI). The primary mission of the satellite program is to expose Ethiopian engineers and scientists to hands-on experience and demonstrate the Institute’s capability in integrating nanosatellite subsystems locally. The nanosatellite will add to ESSTI’s capacity in Earth observation and provide vital remote sensing data over the Ethiopian territory.

China is providing technical and financial support to ESSTI on the project and will help launch the nanosatellite into low Earth orbit in October, the source says. The source did not disclose the total cost of the project and how much of it is funded by Beijing.

In December 2019, Ethiopia launched its first satellite named ETRSS-1, a 70kg multi-spectral remote sensing satellite from China onboard a Chinese Long March 4B rocket. The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) developed the satellite in collaboration with 21 Ethiopian technicians, trained on the project as part of the technology-transfer agreement between Beijing and Addis Ababa. The Chinese government provided 75% of the total cost of the ETRSS-1 satellite, worth about USD 6 million, and helped to launch the satellite.

The launch of a locally-developed satellite will mark a worthwhile achievement in Ethiopia’s space ambitions as the East African nation conceives a longterm plan of having indigenous capabilities in the development and operation of satellite systems. The construction of satellite manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing (MAIT) facilities in Addis Ababa is the works following the agreement signed by the Ethiopian government and French space company ArianeGroup with funding from the European Investment Bank.

Ethiopia also plans to launch a third satellite following a contract the government signed with China for the construction of a communication satellite for commercial telecommunications and broadcasting services. The details of the contract and the satellite development timeline have not been disclosed.

This is a developing story. Space in Africa will publish further details as more
information become available.
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