Kenya to launch first home built satellite

Kenya will launch its first operational satellite, the Taifa-1, or Nation-1 in Swahili, which is scheduled to be launched on 10 April aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The AFP news agency reports that the observation satellite is “fully designed and developed” by Kenyan engineers and will be used to provide data on agriculture and food security, among other areas. Testing and manufacturing of the parts were done in collaboration with a Bulgarian aerospace manufacturer.