Zimbabwe launches second satellite

Blessings Chidakwa

Herald Reporter

Zimbabwe has reached the stars again after launching its second earth observation satellite, ZimSat-2, into orbit on Tuesday.

The ZimSat-2 was launched from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amu Oblast, Russia.

Speaking from Russia, Zimbabwe National Geo-Spatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA) coordinator, Dr Painos Gweme said they were anticipating the first telemetry data in a few hours.

“All spacecraft systems are working normally,” he said.

Zimbabwe’s satellite was designed and manufactured through a collaborative research programme between ZINGSA and Southwest State University, one of the top public universities in Kursk, Russia.

The satellite was designed for earth observation and data collection in agriculture, environmental protection and natural resource management.

Zimbabwe’s first satellite, ZimSat-1, was launched on November 7, 2022, and moved into its final orbit on December 2 of the same year.

ZimSat-1 was launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, United States, as part of the BIRDS-5 constellation, along with Uganda’s Pear AfricaSat-1.

The satellites were then released from the Japanese Kibo module on the International Space Station on November 21, 2022.

Zimbabwe is among a handful of African countries that include South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda that have satellites in orbit.