This past weekend, Senegal marked a milestone in its history by launching its very first satellite from the SpaceX launchpad in California in the USA. By this action, it has become one of 12 African nations to launch satellites to space.

The satellite, GAINDESAT-1A was built by Senegalese engineers in collaboration with the French Space Centre of Montpellier University (Centre Spatiale Universitaire de Montpellier (CSUM)). It is a nanosatellite, launched into orbit with 115 others from different countries. This satellite will focus on collecting data for multiple state agencies including the Directorate for Water Resources Management and Planning (DGPRE) and the National Civil Aviation and Meteorology Agency.

The country’s president Bassirou Diomaye Faye said the move marks a major step towards Senegal’s “technological sovereignty,” … he said on X, “I would like to express my pride and gratitude to all those who made this project possible.” Maram Kaïré, director of Senegal’s space agency, described the launch as “an important step and a historic day in our country’s progress and determination to become a space-faring nation”.

For more, please check out phys.org and Space in Africa.