By Dr Masimba Mavaza | Zimbabwe launched a satellite marking a scientific history in the making.
Zimbabwe’s satellite, named ZimSat-1, was designed and assembled by three of the country’s scientists who were supported and trained in Japan. Zimbabwe was joined in this historical by Uganda.
Uganda’s satellite, the PearlAfricaSat-1 was also built by three of its own aerospace engineers, and hope that it will be able to set up its own command station to manage it.
Once in orbit, the two satellites will collect images to help support research into weather forecasting, as well as monitoring border security, and disaster prevention for their countries.
Zimbabwe and Uganda have launched their first homegrown satellites into space aboard a NASA rocket. Zimbabwe’s satellite, named ZimSat-1, was designed and assembled by three of the country’s scientists who were supported and trained in Japan. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), through its commercial arms, has earned $279 million in foreign exchange by launching satellites for global clients, Union Minister Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.27 Jul 2022 : Centre
ISRO in association with its commercial arms has successfully launched 345 foreign satellites from 34 countries on-board Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
The USA embassy in Harare ashamed that their sanctions have failed to put us dow said
*Zimbabwe Satellite Launch On US Soil Undermines Sanctions Rhetoric:
The launch of Zimbabwe’s first satellite from a NASA facility in Virginia belies rhetoric that the country is under economic sanctions”-the United States embassy in Harare said on Tuesday.
Zimsat-1 was launched into orbit from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Monday as part of the Japanese-sponsored Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Project-5 (BIRDS-5) network.
The United States says facilitating the launch is the clearest proof that targeted sanctions imposed on individual politicians and security chiefs accused of rights abuses are no barrier to the country’s economic growth. But the reality is using their launch pad had nothing to do with sanctions. There were few countries involved including Japan and Uganda. Allowing this deal to go on can Only be attributed to Japanese involvement. The USA said. “The United States government supports bilateral trade and investment opportunities that benefit U.S. and Zimbabwean companies alike and promote shared economic growth,” the embassy said in an e-mailed response to questions from ZimLive. However the embassy forgot to say the launching was a business venture which was blind to sanctions.
“The satellite launch is a great example of international cooperation and innovation. U.S. sanctions target 73 individuals and 37 entities who cannot use the U.S. financial system. They are designed to limit Zimbabwe’s economic growth.” Since they run most of our businesses their sanctions simply sanctions everybody.
Zimsat-1, a small CubeSat nanosatellite using a commercial off-the-shelf camera is expected to provide high-resolution image data for research and observation, including weather forecasting, land, water, and mineral mapping, among other functions.
In short countries charge other countries for them to launch their satellite from their launching pad. What has happened between Zimbabwe and the United States where Zimbabwe used NASA launch pad to launch Zimstat1 does not show improved relations. It simply shows that our satellites are launch able on a NASA launch pad it is unfortunate for the American government to
Jump to say the business of launching a Satellite for Zimbabwe means that Zimbabwe is not under sanctions is insulting unfair and unprofessional. Zimbabwe paid for their satellite to be launched. It was a business. If there were no sanctions USA as it custom will have charged Zimbabwe
No penny for launching Zimstat1. This launch has no reflection what soever on sanctions. Zimbabwe entered a scientific technical business arrangement. Fuelled by the unfortunate comments from the USA many Zimbabweans who do not read well posted their outrage on social media.
Outrage on social media was from Zimbabweans who read America’s comments. Zimbabwe is facing tough economic times, the launch came with controversy and has provoked strong reactions on social networks. The cost of the project was not disclosed.
Launching a satellite shows how Zimbabwe is resilient and the persistence in the economic out look reinforces the Moto brick by brick.
Zimbabwe has been in a deep economic crisis for the past two decades and remains under international sanctions. In September, the IMF announced that growth forecasts were still down due to a drop in agricultural production. But this did not hinder the progress and Zimbabwe had to take its rightful place among the best. While a number of countries have built satellites, as of 2022, eleven countries have had the capability to send objects into orbit using their own launch vehicles. Russia and Ukraine inherited the space launchers and satellites capability from the Soviet Union, following its dissolution in 1991. Russia launches its rockets from its own and foreign (Kazakh) spaceports. But most countries launch their satellite from other country’s launch pad.
Having a satellite in the orbit brings more economic benefits to a country. It allows Connecting to remote assets, Driving the use of sensor networks,Transforming transportation infrastructure, Developing sustainable cities. …
Facilitating mobile banking and retail. Satellites give a form of Reliability and gives Ubiquitous coverage and good speed in internet and any network based technology. Launching a satellite is an investment not waste of resources. The nascent Internet of Things (IoT) movement promises to deliver many kinds of new services enabled by the relentless shift towards the interconnected network of devices, as well as set the stage for unleashing the next wave of disruptive technologies. Why satellite technology plays a key role in making the IoT a reality.As people we often overlook the role of satellite technology in providing vital communication links to remote areas where terrestrial networks are unavailable or out of reach. Despite the roll-out of terrestrial networks to many parts of the world, there are many regions that remain unconnected which rely on satellite connectivity. It is either physically not possible to connect users at sea or in the air except via satellite or there is no business case to justify the costs to roll-out fiber to remote, sparsely populated areas. As such, satellite technology has a key role in enabling new applications and business processes that are making the IoT a reality. Satellite helps in Connecting remote assets, Business operations that extend to geographically remote environments depend on satellites to provide the critical communication means to conduct remote facility monitoring and real-time asset management at unmanned sites and offshore platforms. Our wildlife managers rely more on satellite so are the soldiers police and several remote businesses. Driving the use of sensor networks Energy and mining companies are exploring more extensive usage of satellite-based sensor networks to support their offshore exploration projects. The fact that launching satellites has been done by rich countries does not mean that poor countries should shy away from such a development.
We need to spend money so that we are able to make more money. Transforming transportation infrastructure dealing with Broadband connectivity on trains, cargo vehicles and maritime vessels is a burgeoning trend in the global transportation landscape, and satellite communications plays a pivotal role in enabling innovative mobility services. Zimbabwe will be providing free wi-fi or cheap broadband in the near future thanks to the technical wisdom of our president cde Emerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa. Developing sustainable cities gives its sustainability to satellite. City administrators around the world are harnessing the power of the IoT to drive energy efficiency measures and smarter resource allocation to help make cities more sustainable; for instance, satellite is key to enabling smart grids to be extended to remote regions where terrestrial networks fall short. As we are seeing more stability in our banking system Facilitating mobile banking and retail relies more on satellite. Satellite can serve as the communications backbone that keeps wireless ATMs and mobile point-of-sales applications running smoothly across a broad geographical span.
Despite the roll-out of terrestrial networks to many parts of the world, there are many regions that remain unconnected which rely on satellite connectivity by 2023 every part of Zimbabwe will be covered and there will be no areas which will be difficult to reach. We should realise that Reliability In an era of increased communications traffic, maintaining a high level of service reliability is always a key requirement for effective IoT deployments. Carrier integrated providers need to work with a satellite provider with a reliable network that caters to applications such as remote asset monitoring ensuring reliable, always-on connectivity.Ubiquitous coverage A new breed of innovative IoT applications will emerge from the connectivity of intelligent devices. Expected to encompass billions of devices around the world, the potential scale of the IoT demands ubiquitous network coverage between satellite operators and carrier integrated services, even in remote locations. Again The future landscape of the IoT involves the exchange of data between interconnected objects to facilitate quicker decision making and enhance business processes. As such, the emergence of IoT is therefore driving up the demand for high broadband speeds to support bandwidth-intensive applications in real time. Users need to invest in mobile satellite equipment designed to deliver industry-leading broadband speeds with ease. Again Terrestrial networks can be costly to deploy in some remote regions, and mobile satellite services are still widely viewed as a more affordable communications technology over other existing satellite platforms.Integration The IoT is expected to continue driving up market demand for the integration of satellite into the communications mix. Carrier integration providers need to partner with a satellite operator that is able to provide the necessary technology integration support as well as innovative hardware and flexible satellite infrastructure which are customizable to their users’ needs.The benefits we get from satellite capture the relevance that mobile satellite communications brings to the IoT landscape. But these are just the top of the proverbial iceberg. To deliver the promise, satellite operators and carrier integrators need to work together to enable seamless connectivity that propel our generation into the future. How we do that effectively will be the key to transforming IoT affects us all.
President MNANGAGWA has a vision and he is indeed a visionary.
The launching of satellites, while still contributing to national prestige, is a significant economic activity as well, with public and private rocket systems competing for launches, using cost and reliability as selling points.
Zimbabwe has become the latest country to own a satellite. The Zimstat1 satellite, has been launched on an improved version of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Zimbabwe’s motivation for owning a satellite is strengthening the foundation for economic development, (ED)conforming to the growing trend of developing countries investing in their own satellites. However, the capacity of developing countries to generate enough revenue for recovering the satellite expenditure is questionable, especially if the local market is already crowded. The trend also comments on the validity of the United Nations and international space treaties stressing on sharing of space exploration benefits. The rising number of space actors also brings to forth the pressing need to ensure sustainability of outer space.
The World Bank has classified countries into low income, lower middle income, upper middle income and high income sections. While none of the low income countries own a satellite, a number of lower and upper middle income economies have launched satellites. These satellites include communications, remote sensing and student satellites. The small satellites, based on the Cubesat standard, is allowing many countries to experiment with satellite building. These satellites are capable of carrying cameras and multispectral sensors for earth observation.
However, developing indigenous sophisticated remote sensing or communications satellites is beyond the scope of majority middle income countries and they are therefore dependent on established players. Venezuela, Pakistan, Nigeria, Cambodia, Laos, etc., have given contracts to China to launch their first communications satellites. Only a few such as India, China and Russia represent the middle income group, with capacity to develop and launch satellites indigenously. India and China also offer cheaper launches compared to Western launchers.
Therefore, the aspiring countries are making efforts to indigenise satellite technology by partnering with established operators. For example, China is obliged to train the technicians from the ordering countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia, etc. However, a completely indigenous space programme is not possible without mastering the launch technology. Given the associated military-strategic implications, the spacefaring countries will not be inclined to readily share or train on this technology.
Given the economic conditions, the middle income countries also have to consider initial funding and operational expenses in addition to finding business opportunities. The American GPS is free for use across the globe and also its Landsat earth observation data.
Tracking of satellites and mitigating threats from natural and man-made objects should be given priority during the planning stage. The increasing number of small satellite operators, concentrating on imagery and internet services, might offer a cheaper and secured option, given their ability to scale better than the countries in discussion.
It is welcoming to see that more middle income countries are using satellite services in their economic development.