Senegal has achieved a historic milestone with the successful launch of its first satellite, GAINDESAT-1A, from California on Friday evening. This achievement places Senegal among an elite group of just 12 African nations with their own surveillance and telecommunications satellites in space.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye hailed the launch as a significant step toward achieving Senegal’s "technological sovereignty." In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he expressed his pride and gratitude to everyone involved in the project, marking the event as a pivotal moment in the nation’s technological advancement.
Maram Kaïré, the director of Senegal's space agency, also celebrated the occasion, describing it as “an important step and a historic day in our country's progress and determination to become a space-faring nation.”
The GAINDESAT-1A nanosatellite, developed by Senegalese engineers in collaboration with France’s Montpellier University Space Centre, was one of 115 satellites launched into orbit aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg base in California.
The satellite will serve multiple purposes, providing critical data to various state agencies, including those responsible for water resources, civil aviation, and meteorology, thereby enhancing Senegal’s capabilities in these key areas.
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