It's Not Just Spam Scams And Petro-Terrorists; The West African Nation Also Has A Viable Space Program Aimed At Improving Lives


The historic Aug. 23, 1963, call between two inspirational leaders whose lives ended at the hands of assassins heralded the beginning of a new telecommunications era. But it also marked Nigeria’s first taste of “the peaceful use of space,” as Kennedy termed it during the two-minute conversation.

Today Nigeria has a growing space program of its own, with five satellites orbiting the globe. The devices have a range of purposes, and though there is ongoing controversy surrounding the high cost of funding their manufacture and launch, the program’s supporters cite benefits in areas as diverse as politics, natural disasters and business.

The agency’s vast campus in Nigeria’s capital is a physical testament to the many millions of dollars its federal government has poured into the program. For an idea of the scale of the program, NASRDA spent $13 million on its first satellite, Nigeria Sat-1, which was manufactured at Surrey Space Technologies in the U.K. and launched from a spaceport in Russia. Nig Sat-1 has been a resounding success, and it is still in use 10 years after it left the ground.

NASRDA has made significant strides since that first successful launch, and Ale says the agency is on track to meet its goal to design, build and launch a satellite of its own from a Nigerian launch site by 2020. That will mark many milestones, including the launch of a rocket that's neither a mortar nor an RPG from a Western African nation.


Unlike last century’s space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which was as much about establishing supremacy in the final frontier as it was about providing real benefits to citizens, Nigeria’s space program is aimed squarely at improving people’s lives.

“The focus of our space program is on the socio-economic development of the country,” Ale told IBTimes in his airy office at the Abuja campus. “The best way to fast-track development in any part of the world today is through the application of space science and technology, and that informed the decision of the federal government of Nigeria to come up with the space program.

The agency, created in 1995, has six “centers of excellence” throughout Nigeria, which provide vital support to the Abuja headquarters. The Abuja campus is still where most of the real work on the country’s space program is done, and it is a strange sight to behold in a country better known for its urban slums and rural villages than for its aerospace adventures.

Spread over dozens of flat acres and about a 20-minute drive from central Abuja, the NASRDA campus greets visitors with a large cement gateway emblazoned with the name and symbol of the agency. It’s an imposing structure that guards the long driveway leading to the futuristic structures that comprise the agency’s nerve center.

The main NASRDA building looks like an architectural interpretation of an interstellar spacecraft, with tall, slanted concrete booms laid across a blue glass pyramid that evokes a space-age greenhouse. In the foyer, display models of satellites and rockets are bathed in a bluish light as the hot African sun pours in through tinted windows. The satellites are actual-size replicas of the ones on which Nigeria has spent millions of dollars to make a reality, and they are surprisingly diminutive considering their extensive capabilities.



The ground communications hub, a massive off-white stucco box topped with one of the programs’ many satellite dishes, is a few minutes’ walk from the main edifice, and it's where the bulk of NASRDA’s communications with its satellites begin.

A number of administrative and engineering buildings are strewn haphazardly across the rest of the grassy campus, and Ale mentioned that America’s NASA space agency has lent the program further legitimacy by installing its only observatory equipment based in Africa at the agency’s outpost in Toro, Nigeria.

Though NASRDA is a hive of ground-based activity, its most vital work takes place via five satellites orbiting thousands of miles above the Earth.





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http://www.ibtimes.com/nigeria-its-not-just-spam-scams-petro-terrorists-west-african-nation-also-has-viable-space-program

I find this article disgustingly racist and screaming of cheap un-provoked bigotry. It surely hurts the white man to see africans make any sort of improvement.

Two words for them, "F*** you". This world isn't only white.

Henry120: I find this article disgustingly racist and screaming of cheap un-provoked bigotry. It surely hurts the white man to see africans make any sort of improvement.

Two words for them, "F*** you". This world isn't only white.

lol

I don't know much about the Nigerian space program but i know for sure its a classic case of Misplaced priority.

Henry120: I find this article disgustingly racist and screaming of cheap un-provoked bigotry. It surely hurts the white man to see africans make any sort of improvement.

Two words for them, "F*** you". This world isn't only white.

But the reporter is right. The Makoko slum is more known than the Nigerian space program.

They're just stylishly telling us we have more pressing issues than pursuing a space program.

ba7man: But the reporter is right. The Makoko slum is more known than the Nigerian space program.

They're just stylishly telling us we have more pressing issues than pursuing a space program.

There are upwards of above 500 violent murders in chicago yearly. My question to you is, do reporters writing on NASA refer to what the american government has done or has not done in regards to stemming the murder surge in chicago, Detroit, baltimore and other extremely violent american cities or the pot smoking and cocaine injecting american problem?


What is the correlation between a country's space program and scamming or sea banditry?

If you find nothing racist with this article, then there is something terribly wrong with you.

ba7man: I don't know much about the Nigerian space program but i know for sure its a classic case of Misplaced priority.

daft peeps like you should start thinking outside the box for a change.

So do you not know that part of the solution to Makoko is this program and programs that invest into the countries future? Do you know that satelites create entire industries for common people to raise out of poverty, save people from weather conditions like flood, and help map and know where poverty exists and to what extent? Would we have known Lagos was going to be flooded over in 2050 without satelites? and what has that led to? Eko Atlantic.

If white people want to be ignorant about Nigeria and it's ambitions its not mandatory nigerians join them.

ba7man: I don't know much about the Nigerian space program but i know for sure its a classic case of Misplaced priority.

Nigeria is spending billions paying foreigners to develop and maintain a space program while Nigerian students are wasting at home.

I wonder a lot of about the mindset of Nigerians.

Arosa:

daft peeps like you should start thinking outside the box for a change.

Can you articulate what the objectives of Nigeria's space program are?

Katsumoto:

Nigeria is spending billions paying foreigners to develop and maintain a space program while Nigerian students are wasting at home.

I wonder a lot of about the mindset of Nigerians.

what about the greedy ASUU? Is it FG's fault? Abi na engine oil de inside your head

Arosa:

daft peeps like you should start thinking outside the box for a change.

Apart from insults, don't you have a point to share??

Notice the matured way @Ikengawo presented his points, even though he doesn't agree with me.

That's how to communicate.

iterator24: what about the greedy ASUU? Is it FG's fault? Abi na engine oil de inside your head

Why is it that some of the people that are for this Space Program are so quick to insult??

Ikengawo: So do you not know that part of the solution to Makoko is this program and programs that invest into the countries future? Do you know that satelites create entire industries for common people to raise out of poverty, save people from weather conditions like flood, and help map and know where poverty exists and to what extent? Would we have known Lagos was going to be flooded over in 2050 without satelites? and what has that led to? Eko Atlantic.

If white people want to be ignorant about Nigeria and it's ambitions its not mandatory nigerians join them.

Its a good idea but bad timing. We haven't developed the foundation, we're already building a grand roof.

There are scores of Countries that don't have a space program but are doing far better than we are. This shows that it might be of use but there are more salient issues on ground.

If you witnessed the Ocean surges prior to the Ocean Reclaimation projects, you won't need a satelite to tell you Lagos would be underwater in the near future.

A country that can't assure food: housing, healthcare, water,etc is funding a space program. Goats have been running and are still running nigeria.

ba7man: Its a good idea but bad timing. We haven't developed the foundation, we're already building a grand roof.

There are scores of Countries that don't have a space program but are doing far better than we are. This shows that it might be of use but there are more salient issues on ground.

If you witnessed the Ocean surges prior to the Ocean Reclaimation projects, you won't need a satelite to tell you Lagos would be underwater in the near future.

Don't wait, the time would never be just right.

The space program as we have seen, and continue to see has been an immense asset to the FGN, not just in tracking social and environmental issues, but critically in security,planning and most importantly food security and agriculture. The merits of this program far out-weigh whatever demerits the ignorant reporter can concoct.

The satellites are tracking crops and weather around the country in an effort to protect long-term food supply. There is also closer monitoring of the Niger Delta and environmental damage from oil spil and tracking of crude oil thieves.



...................."We've just collected images over Mali and nigeria's border region, which we've handed over to the armed forces because we believe they will be helpful to them in the peacekeeping mission over there," says Seidu Mohammed, director-general of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA)."...................


..................."In the city of Lagos, and its surrounding area, satellite images are being used for urban planning and tax collection. The plan is to use this to help manage the rapidly growing population of Africa's second largest city."...................




...........((There are scores of Countries that don't have a space program but are doing far better than we are. This shows that it might be of use but there are more salient issues on ground.)).......... This statement shows that you are completely and utterly ignorant. So we should not develop because there are countries doing better than us in HDI indices. Oya, go and tell this to the indians, chinese and brazilians.



.............If you witnessed the Ocean surges prior to the Ocean Reclaimation projects, you won't need a satelite to tell you Lagos would be underwater in the near future............. This is a stup1d comment. How then do you effectively plan if you do not know for certain what area's have been consumed, your estimated time left, what should be done and the areas to start from to check-mate the surge?

Henry120:

Don't wait, the time would never be just right.

The space program as we have seen, and continue to see has been an immense asset to the FGN, not just in tracking social and environmental issues, but critically in security,planning and most importantly food security and agriculture. The merits of this program far out-weigh whatever demerits the ignorant reporter can concoct.

The satellites are tracking crops and weather around the country in an effort to protect long-term food supply. There is also closer monitoring of the Niger Delta and environmental damage from oil spil and tracking of crude oil thieves.



...................."We've just collected images over Mali and nigeria's border region, which we've handed over to the armed forces because we believe they will be helpful to them in the peacekeeping mission over there," says Seidu Mohammed, director-general of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA)."...................


..................."In the city of Lagos, and its surrounding area, satellite images are being used for urban planning and tax collection. The plan is to use this to help manage the rapidly growing population of Africa's second largest city."...................




...........((There are scores of Countries that don't have a space program but are doing far better than we are. This shows that it might be of use but there are more salient issues on ground.)).......... This statement shows that you are completely and utterly ignorant. So we should not develop because there are countries doing better than us in HDI indices. Oya, go and tell this to the indians, chinese and brazilians.



.............If you witnessed the Ocean surges prior to the Ocean Reclaimation projects, you won't need a satelite to tell you Lagos would be underwater in the near future............. This is a stup1d comment. How then do you effectively plan if you do not know for certain what area's have been consumed, your estimated time left, what should be done and the areas to start from to check-mate the surge?

Has food become suddenly cheaper or suddenly more available as a result of it being tracked by satelites??

Has there been an increase or decrease in oil spillage and crude-oil theft with the use of satelites??

Look at India, Brazil and China's economy and compare it to ours. So once a country doesn't have a satelite, they have no acess to aeriel data??

Then finally, can't you guys supporting this satelite drop your points without insults??

Or should i post the psychological reason people are always so quick to result to insults??

Katsumoto:

Can you articulate what the objectives of Nigeria's space program are?

you are a daft punk! Dont tell me you dont know the major objectives of a space program? Is it not the same nigerian sattelites that provided real-time monitoring during Hurricane sandy to the americans? Oh i guess you dnt knw that, u think american sattelites were used since the probably have zillions of them orbiting the galaxy? Yes the do but those sattelites where not fitted specialized equipment and thats where the nigerian sattelites comes in.
Come get me if u nid more punk!

Capnd143: you are a daft punk! Dont tell me you dont know the major objectives of a space program? Is it not the same nigerian sattelites that provided real-time monitoring during Hurricane sandy to the americans? Oh i guess you dnt knw that, u think american sattelites were used since the probably have zillions of them orbiting the galaxy? Yes the do but those sattelites where not fitted specialized equipment and thats where the nigerian sattelites comes in.
Come get me if u nid more punk!

The only response you deserve is laughter at your stupidity.

The Americans were relying on Nigerian satellites.

Muzuzu of the highest order.

iterator24: what about the greedy ASUU? Is it FG's fault? Abi na engine oil de inside your head

Just articulate why Nigeria should be paying billions to foreigners to develop a space program while Nigerian students are sitting at home.

Only fools use insults to substitute for intelligence. Any idiot 'oil in the head' can throw insults but only those with a proper brain can articulate their thoughts into sensible words.

Surprise me - lets see whats in your head.

ba7man: I don't know much about the Nigerian space program but i know for sure its a classic case of Misplaced priority.

And if we close it down what happens to the hundreds of engineers and scientists ? Brain Drain ?

numbered: And if we close it down what happens to the hundreds of engineers and scientists ? Brain Drain ?

Nigerian satellites are launched from China using Russian rockets. Nigeria is the proverbial 'a fool and his money are soon parted'. You mean Chinese and Russian scientists?

70% of Nigerians live on less than 70 pence per day. Nigeria should be spending money on programs that will aid development and infrastructure.

iterator24: It's Not Just Spam Scams And Petro-Terrorists; The West African Nation Also Has A Viable Space Program Aimed At Improving Lives

The agency, created in 1995, has six “centers of excellence” throughout Nigeria, which provide vital support to the Abuja headquarters. The Abuja campus is still where most of the real work on the country’s space program is done, and it is a strange sight to behold in a country better known for its urban slums and rural villages than for its aerospace adventures.

. The satellites are actual-size replicas of the ones on which Nigeria has spent millions of dollars to make a reality, and they are surprisingly diminutive considering their extensive capabilities.

A number of administrative and engineering buildings are strewn haphazardly across the rest of the grassy campus, and Ale mentioned that America’s NASA space agency has lent the program further legitimacy by installing its only observatory equipment based in Africa at the agency’s outpost in Toro, Nigeria.

There isn't much that is overtly racist in the above quotes that I can see, though the wording could be construed as being somewhat condescending towards Nigeria's modest ventures into satellite launches.

Katsumoto:
Nigeria should be spending money on programs that will aid development and infrastructure.

Nigeria's space program aids development and infrastructure. For example, NigComSat-1R is expected to play a major role in meeting Nigeria’s telecommunications, broadcast, aviation, maritime, defense and security needs. The portion of the Nigerian GDP spent sustaining a space program will not prevent the development of other sectors. It is much better that we have a home-grown space program to address these needs rather than be always dependent on and hostage to foreign technology. The initial use of Chinese and Russian technologies is expected given that they had years of a head start. A number of Nigerian engineers have already benefited by gaining skills in space technology and played a major role building NigeriaSat-X.
The development of the Nigeria Space Program is in carefully calibrated stages and over time, Nigeria will acquire indigenous launch capacity. Moreover, space is a critical, strategic, future resource and shortsightedness should not rob Nigeria of the chance to be represented there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EkkzZryLXQ

Nigeria develops one of Africa's biggest space programmes

Katsumoto:

Nigerian satellites are launched from China using Russian rockets. Nigeria is the proverbial 'a fool and his money are soon parted'. You mean Chinese and Russian scientists?

70% of Nigerians live on less than 70 pence per day. Nigeria should be spending money on programs that will aid development and infrastructure.

Where do you people get this 70% rubbish I think you lack common sense

iterator24:
Where do you people get this 70% rubbish I think you lack common sense

You are only contributing insults to the thread. Answer the questions I threw at you minister of state for propaganda.

Katsumoto:
70% of Nigerians live on less than 70 pence per day.

This has to be the most fake and misleading statistic ever presented on earth. That a supposedly grown man would repeat it shows that common sense is not common. Come, let me give you 70p and you show me how you will survive on it in Nigeria ''per day''. Ewu nama.

ROSSIKE:

This has to be the most fake and misleading statistic ever presented on earth. That a supposedly grown man would repeat it shows that common sense is not common.

He's a fool that's just seeking attention

ROSSIKE:

This has to be the most fake and misleading statistic ever presented on earth. That a supposedly grown man would repeat it shows that common sense is not common. Come, let me give you 70p and you show me how you will survive on it in Nigeria ''per day''. Ewu nama.

Not all Nigerians get the opportunity of being paid millions to disseminate false GEJ propaganda on the net. There are approximately 150 million Nigerians, many of them are living in poverty. If they weren't, there would be many cities like Abuja and many of those living in Nigeria's economic capital would be middle class citizens.

But then again, what does one expect of someone who has sold his soul to the devil?

iterator24:
He's a fool that's just seeking attention

Like I stated previously, any idiot can insult but only those with grey matter can articulate their arguments. Keep proving me right laptop 419.

Katsumoto:

Like I stated previously, any idiot can insult but only those with grey matter can articulate their arguments. Keep proving me right laptop 419.

Lol..it appears you're new to arguments on this platform..