The government of Uganda is in advanced stages towards having its first satellite by August 2022. The satellite, PearlAfricaSat-1, is the latest mission from the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project. The project, first announced in 2019, took a major step forward recently with the approval of funding for a ground station at Mpoma near Kampala.
Mpoma facility was chosen as the base because it already has some ground technology being used for international telecommunication, a thing that would complement the satellite project. The facility already has two antennas, which will serve as the operations and communications center for satellites launched by the government and universities. The existing antennas are associated with Intelsat’s Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean satellites.
Uganda signed the collaborative research agreement with the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech), Japan. The agreement involved enrolling and upskilling three graduate engineers to design, build, test, and launch the first satellite for Uganda. Consequently, Japan registered three Ugandan graduate engineers, including; Bonny Omara, Edgar Mujuni, and Derrick Tebusweke.
The core missions for PearlAfricaSat-1 are a multispectral camera payload. The Multispectral Camera mission will provide about 20-metre resolution images for Uganda to facilitate water quality, soil fertility, and land use and cover analysis. The satellite will play a vital role in the oil and gas operation by monitoring the East African crude oil pipeline.
This will enable accurate weather forecasts by gathering remote sensor data for predicting landslides and drought. Once the satellite reaches orbit, an Uganda ground station will monitor its health status for a few days before it starts executing its mission.
Uganda has already invested significant resources to develop the technology. The country has committed $2 million for technology, research, and development and another $200,000 to improve infrastructure at Mpoma.
Tumwesigye said the satellite and facility will receive capacity-building funding support from Russia and will be launched from Asia. “The satellite will be launched from Japan, but it will be for Uganda,” he said.
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