The Director General of the National Space Research and Development Agency, Dr Halilu Shaba, has said the country’s earth observation satellite, Nigeria Sat-2 has become obsolete.
Shaba also appealed to the Federal Government to increase fund allocation to the agency in order to boost satellite activities and technological advancement in the country.
According to a statement issued on Friday by NASRDA’s Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Dr Felix Ale, the Shaba made the appeal during the National Space Council’s meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The statement was titled ‘President Buhari reaffirms NASRDA’s mandate as the only agency to build and launch satellites in Nigeria’.
It quoted the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), as saying that the strategic and constitutional role of NASRDA as the only government agency saddled with the core mandate to build and launch satellites for various applications in Nigeria.
Buhari, who is also the Chairman of Nigeria Space Council, added, according to the statement, “The development of space science and technology, particularly the launch of earth observation, communication and navigation satellites remains the core mandate of the nation’s premier space agency.”
The statement read in part, “The President also directed the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonanya Onu, to as a matter of urgent attention, prepare and submit to the Federal Executive Council for consideration and approval a revised 25-year roadmap for the implementation of the National Space Policy.”
The NASRDA DG during his presentation stated that the Nigeria Sat-2, which is still functioning, needed to be replaced as it had gone beyond its lifespan.
Shaba made a presentation on the current status of Nigeria Sat-2 which he described as still functioning effectively and supplying relevant data despite the need for its replacement as it had exceeded its designed lifespan in the orbit.
“The NASRDA boss informed the meeting about the progress made on building and launching of two very important satellites which are the Synthetic Aperture Radar (Nigeria SAR -1) and an optical earth observation satellite (NigeriaSat-3) that will go a long way in providing relevant data, on mapping and geospatial information for decision makers in addressing issues of urgent national importance like security and economy,” the statement read.
The NASRDA boss, the statement added, appealed to the Federal Government to increase funding efforts to help the agency achieve its objectives for technological progress.
