Nanosatellite to help monitor security on Lake Victoria

Space technology seems to be the ‘in thing’ at Kenyan universities, with the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) finally taking its place among its peers in the new space age.

TUK has developed a nanosatellite dubbed TUKSat-1 that is aimed at monitoring security on Lake Victoria as well as aiding with rescue missions in cases where water vessels and people go missing. The satellite will help track stranded boats and canoes by relaying their coordinates and including a pictorial view. Having the exact location of the vessels will make work easier for the relevant authorities.

Border conflicts with Ugandan and Tanzanian police have seen Kenyan fishermen lose their equipment, freedom and even lives due to trespassing rules and regulations, as seen in an NTV Kenya report on 6 August 2021. TUK says that the nanosatellite will help mitigate this problem by sounding an alarm whenever a vessel comes too close to a Kenya-Uganda or Kenya-Tanzania border.

According to the project investigator, Professor Paul Baki, the TUKSat-1 was a multidisciplinary project that involved coordination and teamwork from the following TUK schools: physics and earth sciences, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical and process engineering, surveying and geospatial technologies, as well as aerospace and aeronautical engineering.

“The nanosatellite development programme was initiated at the university in 2018 through collaborations with other institutions abroad,” Baki told University World News.

“We successfully secured funding from the Kenya Space Agency in 2020 and built the 1U nanosatellite (10 cubic centimetres in volume) between October 2020 and October 2021,” he added. The parts used to build the satellite were bought locally and all the work was done in the TUK physics laboratory.

Time for Africa to ‘move and shake’

Space technology is not new to Kenya. The University of Nairobi (UON) launched the first Kenyan-owned nanosatellite into space in 2018.

The satellite, named 1KUNS-PF (1st Kenyan University Nanosatellite-Precursor Flight) was developed and assembled by UON engineers in collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which gave them the technical support they needed.

The CubeSat was launched from the International Space Station on 11 May 2018, with the intention of using it to carry out technological tests and making observations about Earth. A CubeSat is a small satellite that is launched into a low earth orbit and is mainly used for activities such as communication and remote sensing.

The UON was selected as the first beneficiary of the joint space programme between the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and JAXA in 2016. The grant was worth Ksh120 million (about US$1 million at today’s rates).

Baki explained that, unlike the 1KUNS-PF, the TUKSat-1 was a technology demonstration satellite and was thus launched on a drone.

Seth Odhiambo Nyawacha, a geomatics application expert at LocateIT Limited in Nairobi told University World News that it was time Africa moved from the dependency position that it is in and, instead, produced the movers and shakers needed in terms of technology.

Nyawacha explained that the world is moving towards a technical and digital-driven economy and livelihood that will also be influenced by space exploration and space technology. Africa is the current frontier in consuming space-based products, which calls for a robust and deliberate effort by stakeholders, more so the training institutions, to invest in building skills pertaining to space exploration and technology.

“With the development of the African Space Agency, soon to be hosted in Egypt, the continent will require home-based technicians and engineers to propel our satellites to space, ranging from communication satellites to weather-forecast satellites in the wake of climate change, among others,” Nyawacha said.

Will institutions get the funds?

Nyawacha, however, noted the shortage of funding in education and training sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa, adding that collaboration with organisations such as JAXA and UNOOSA come in handy.

“I would encourage the roll-out of more exchange programmes with the developed countries so that our engineers take advantage of the laboratories and new training technologies,” he explained.

“A bright future for Africa means that we must be ready to invest in the things that are important for the future. Tertiary institutions, colleges and universities should be the last institutions to experience a shortage of funds.”

Other Kenyan universities that have shown interest in space exploration include Moi University and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

According to the 2021 report, Viability of Establishing a Spaceport in Kenya, Kenya’s position on the equator makes it a viable centre for rocket launches, with the town of Marsabit selected as the best location for setting up a spaceport.

“There is great potential for space-technology development in Kenya, with the possibility of starting up a small-scale domestic space industry. Universities have very dynamic young people who, if well mentored, can propel Kenya to the frontiers of space technology,” Baki said.