ELON Musk’s SpaceX company has delayed the launch of Kenya’s first earth observation satellite by 24 hours citing unfavourable weather conditions at the launch base in California.
The satellite named Nation- 1, or Taifa -1 in Swahili, was to be deployed aboard a Falcon 9 rocket alongside other satellites from other countries.
A statement from the Kenya Space Agency said the delay was due to “unfavourable upper-level wind conditions” that would “affect the rocket’s flight trajectory”.
The launch is now expected to take place on Wednesday 12 April at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
The main mission of the satellite will be to provide data for use in agriculture, food security, land management and environmental monitoring.
Taifa-1 was fully designed and developed by a team of Kenyan engineers with the satellites parts, testing and done in collaboration with a Bulgarian aerospace manufacturer.
Kenya sent its first experimental nano satellite from the International Space Station in 2018 in collaboration with Japan. It was built by students from the University of Nairobi.
