Ethiopia has launched a satellite this morning for the first time in the history of the country. State television EBC announced that the spacecraft reached its intended orbit traveling 700 Kilometers after it was launched from the space station in Shanxi, China.
The spacecraft named ETRSS1 was built in cooperation with Ethiopia and China governments and launched in partnership with China National Space Administration (CNSA).
ETRSS1 is a Remote Sensing satellite that could obtain information on earth from space. It could have vital importance in fields such as Agriculture, environmental conservation, and mining.
Information from the satellite is obtained from the station in Entoto, near Addis Ababa. This station has been controlled the phases from the launching to satellite operation.
“This is the first satellite for Ethiopia but not the last, more will follow,” said prime minister Abiy on his congratulation message. He added that “this satellite could enable us to compete on African and an international market based on information and knowledge.”
Moreover, according to the prime minister, since it had not owned a satellite, Ethiopia had been buying images from other countries. But now ETRSS1 allows the state to track movements in the border, to follow up mega projects, to monitor climate changes, to modernize Agriculture, and to make information-based plans.
Additionally, Abiy said that most of the costs of the spacecraft had covered by the Chinese government. But Ethiopian scholars had been participated from designing to production phases.
Ethiopia became the tenth African country to launch a satellite. According to the prime minister, the state plans to launch more satellites shortly partnering with other countries. And this is a first step forward to the journey of Ethiopian prosperity.
