Ethiopia is in the final stages of launching its second remote-sensing satellite into space, with the help of China, as the country seeks to advance its space science development.
In an exclusive interview with The EastAfrican, the Director-General of the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI), Dr Solomon Belay, said that the country's second satellite will be launched on December 20, 2020, from China's Taiyuan Spacecraft Launch Site.
Named ET-SMART-RSS, the second earth observation nano-satellite was designed by Ethiopian engineers in collaboration with China's Smart Satellite Technology Corporation under an initiative co-funded by both Ethiopia and China.
The satellite, according to Dr Solomon, has improved resolution features that would enable it to capture and send high-quality images to its command centre in Addis Ababa.
"The major mission of the second satellite is on flood and disaster prediction," he said, adding that "agriculture and environment are also its secondary missions."
Further, the satellite is expected to collect data in areas in Ethiopia not covered by the first one.
"The first satellite couldn't cover all territories of Ethiopia but the second satellite will fill these gaps," Dr Solomon said.
The first satellite, named ETRSS-1, was launched on December 20, 2019. It is used for weather forecast, environment, and crop monitoring.
According to the officials, the data collected from space is in high demand and is being used in universities and research centres.
Ethiopia is among several African countries that have built and launched satellites to advance economic development and scientific innovation in line with the African Union policy on space development adopted in 2017.