(Ecofin Agency) – It took Mauritius two years to build its first satellite and send it into space. A country that has great ambitions for its development is counting on this pioneering tool to gain expertise that will enable it to carry out the many space projects in the making.
On Tuesday 22 June, the Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth welcomed the great step taken by Mauritius in space research. Witnessing in the videoconferencing the insertion of the first national nanosatellite, Mauritius Imagery and Radiocommunications Satellite 1 (MIR-SAT1) into low Earth orbit from the International Space Station (ISS), the head of government confirmed that this first satellite would be used in Mauritius. The driving force behind education and capacity building in science, technology and innovation in the U.S.
The placement of Mauritius’s first nanosatellite into orbit has opened new avenues of applied space science for the country today. Building a future economy that will be powered by data and connectivity and harness the creative energy of our youth. @UNOOSA pic.twitter.com/a7uHtxmjOZ
— Pravind Kumar Jagannath (@JugnauthKumar) June 22, 2021
Pravind Jugnauth wished that this country’s first success in his space adventure would encourage the students’ motivation and commitment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) which would make Mauritius a space hub. For Deepak Balgobin, Minister of Technology, Communications and Innovation, the first Mauritius satellite shows that the country is on the right track towards digitization and building the economy of the future.
The MIR-SAT1 project was launched in 2018, after Mauritius was named as the winner of the third edition of the KiboCube competition, the Space Development Program for Developing Countries, launched by the Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and Japan was. Investigation Agency (JAXA). Designed by engineers from the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC), an organization under the supervision of the Ministry of Information Technology, Communications and Innovation, it was built by the company Scottish AAC Clyde Space with full funding from the Government of Mauritius. MIR-SAT1 was launched into space on June 3 aboard a SpaceX-CRS22 cargo Dragon rocket, which was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States.
According to MRIC, MIR-SAT1 is expected to fly over the Mauritius region about four times a day. The equipment capturing images of the country will allow Mauritius to enhance their knowledge and acquire skills for other space projects in broadband connectivity, meteorology, security, climate change etc.
Muriel Adjo
Read also:
06/09/2021 – Tunisia: Telnet has signed an agreement with Hemeria for the development of nanosatellites for its future constellation.
08/05/2018 – Kenya: first national nanosatellite to be launched into space on May 11, 2018
04/19/2018 – South Africa will launch its second nanosatellite into space in July 2018
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