60 years after independence, Ghana launches first satellite

Ghana’s first satellite, dubbed Ghansat-1, was released and deployed into orbit at an altitude of 420 km, local media reported on Friday.

“This followed the successful launch on June 10 into the International Space Station (ISS) by SpaceX, Flight 11 from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, the United States,’’ local media said.

It further said that the process was watched live at All Nations University campus in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital, some 85 km east of the capital.

It said that the satellite was built by students of All Nations University.

“The successful launch of the satellite has put Ghana on the international map as the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to launch academic satellite into space.

“The successful launch also paved way for the country to explore the full benefit of satellite technology,’’ it added.

The satellite has cameras onboard capable of taking pictures of Ghana and providing data on happenings on Ghana’s coastal areas and the environment

Ghana got its independence from Britain in 1957.