Ethiopia launches second Chinese-backed satellite

 


An Ethiopian official on Wednesday disclosed Ethiopia has launched its second Chinese-backed satellite.

Yishrun Alemayehu, Deputy General Director of Ethiopia Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI), said the satellite which was launched on Tuesday has high advanced resolutions and capable pictures to capture pictures in a clearer way.


The satellite abbreviated as ET-Smart-RSS was launched from China Wenchang spacecraft launch site.


"Preliminary design was conducted in Ethiopia, while detailed and technical works were undertaken in collaboration with Chinese experts in China through zooming and other platforms," Alemayehu told the state-owned daily newspaper Ethiopian Herald.


"The 8.9 kilograms nano satellite is a great achievement of Ethiopia in a number of ways. The institute will keep on working to further strengthen the effort in technology transfer and human development," he further said.


The satellite preliminary design was done in Ethiopia, while the technical and detailed design was conducted by a joint Ethiopian-Chinese engineers' team.


In December 2019, Ethiopia launched its first ever satellite abbreviated as ETRSS-1 with support from the Chinese government.


The 72 kg multi-spectral remote sensing satellite, which is stationed in 700 km away from earth, is monitoring the environment and weather patterns for better agricultural planning, drought early warning, mining activities and forestry management of the country.


In recent years, China has forged partnership in developing Ethiopia's space science sector, whereby it has closely worked with Ethiopia's Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MoIT) to train Ethiopian space engineers as well as help in the launch of micro-satellites.


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