The ground receiver will be located at a governmental site in Kasarani.

Njogu said this facility enables access to the satellite.

“We have a predictive ground track that allows us to tell that at a certain time, Taifa-1 is going to take pictures of a specific area,” Njogu said.

“By using the ground station software, we can task the satellite to take photos. This mission control software allows one to task the satellite even if we are not in the ground station physically. When Taifa-1 goes over Kenya, it will pick the command.”

In this way, Njogu said they can download images already within the camera, any other data, as well as check the health of the satellite.

The team focused much on virtual testing of the satellite having done a number of simulations to ensure the software engineering model worked perfectly.

This was made possible through their development partner, Endurosat. 

Odhiambo said after numerous testing exercises, the team is 99 per cent confident Taifa-1 is going to function according to set expectations.

“We have followed the laid-out international standards for quality assurance on the manufacturing front. We are confident it will deliver on every intended objective,” he said.

Njogu said the satellite is expected to come into contact with space debris as well as other satellites, hence they created redundancies in the system.

DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES

The engineers faced a number of challenges in building a satellite from ground zero.

These included the manufacturing of electronics, shortage of electronics due to Covid, service gap, launch service provision, space testing facilities and skills gap.

Odhiambo said it takes a lot for engineers to deliver fully on the skills required to come up with a satellite, when there is little to no manufacturing of some components.

“This is a challenge we surmounted easily given the kind of training we get from our local universities. The shortage, however, really delayed our project,” he said.

Njogu also said the environment where the satellite is supposed to be is still very new to the team.

Nobody is sure what will happen, and it is impossible to bring back the satellite, check it and send it back.

“For it to work, the satellite needs to be worked on in a clean environment, where the electrics are clean,” she said.

“You need the right labs, to handle the components with the right standards and to do exhaustive testing.”

The latter requires a thermal vacuum chamber, which essentially exposes the satellite to all the thermal temperatures it will experience in space while also being in a vacuum.

She said in Africa, such facilities only exist in Egypt and South Africa.

Were said there exists a service gap as there are no insurance companies in Kenya that issue space insurance.

The team had to source for an international insurer, Marsh.

The local market also does not have a company that can provide a launch service.

“In the international market, we identified Exolaunch, which offers spaceflights using SpaceX rockets,” Were said.

CAPACITY SUPPORT

“It cost us Sh50 million to develop, test, launch Taifa-1 and train our engineers, considering the fact that we lack the technical capacity,” Kipkosgei said.

“It was important that we build capacity. There were also laboratory facilities as well as engineering development facilities provision.”

Endurosat, a Bulgarian aerospace company, came on board as a developing partner of Taifa-1.

Were said apart from desktop research and local lecturer consultations, Endurosat took the SayariLabs team through technical training in system engineering.

“They have also supported us through the mission, systems development, satellite registration and identifying potential partners in terms of launch and insurance.”

Endurosat is expected to support in the development of the ground station as well as the first phase of the mission.

“For at least six months, they will be relaying the data on our behalf until we have the ground station up and running,” Were said.

During the build, there were times when the Endurosat team jetted into the country and times when the SayariLabs team used to go to Bulgaria.

However, most of the time, meetings and trainings were done virtually to save on costs.

Locally available private stakeholders like Chalbi Industries also helped the team design space-grade structures and satellite casing.

The government, Were said, has also played a big part in supporting this mission.

“On the registration of the satellite, we worked closely with CA, who did the frequency filing, which was published, and later we were given a licence to operate the satellite,” he said.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

Kipkosgei said there is a lot of interest in having an equatorial launch facility, and Kenya, sitting along the equator, offers distinct advantages.

“Nanosatellites across the world are now becoming a thing because nations are looking at miniaturisation of electronics to come up with smaller systems that are capable of doing the job,” he added.

“After we demonstrate the kind of value that will come out of Taifa-1, we hope we will be given the support to come up with more satellites to form a constellation that will give us continuous coverage of what is happening in Kenya.”

“Hopefully, Taifa-2 and 3 will be higher capacity systems.”

Kipkosgei added that the government also plans to establish a commercial space launchpad.

Were said data is the next gold, and the country having acknowledged this proves that we are on the right track.

“Apart from satellites, KSA is spearing for other elaborative programmes, like the operational space weather, which entails studying effects of outer space on earth’s mankind,” he said.

He said equally, Kenya is now leveraging on AI and big data technologies to use data to solve problems.

“We may not be doing big because of limitations and prioritisation of resources, but the little steps we are making are solid,” Were said.

Njogu said KSA is doing a good job in reaching out to educational institutions to bring space learning to consumable levels.

“With the establishment of space clubs in school, children at the grassroots levels can get a chance to see how a planetarium looks like,” she said.

“We are building a young generation that is doing research with the available technology so that by the time they get to where we are, they are revolutionising this space.”