President Bola Tinubu’s government has signed a memorandum of understanding in collaboration with the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) and the Space Exploration and Research Agency, announcing its intention to send its first civilian into space.

The information was announced by NASRDA director-general Mathew Adepoju at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday.

Mr Adepoju said, “This collaboration, which is coming to the country, marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s 25th anniversary of the Space Exploration journey and opens new opportunities for scientific research and technological advancement.”

Nigeria’s space exploration journey began in 1999, during the administration of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. Mr Obasanjo established NASRDA on May 5, 1999.

During Nigeria’s 25 years of actively pursuing space exploration, several satellites have been launched into orbit, with the most recent launch being the NigeriaSat-X in 2011.

However, in the meantime, four satellites have been launched under the NASRDA’s commission.

The first was NigeriaSat-1, launched on September 27, 2003, and the second was NigeriaSat-2, the most potent imaging spacecraft ever sent into orbit, launched on August 17, 2011.

NigeriaSat-X, a corresponding satellite, was launched with NigeriaSat-2 at the Russian military facility Yasny. The NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X have a design life of seven years.

NigComsat-1, launched on May 13, 2007, at a total cost of $300 million, became Nigeria and Africa’s first communications satellite.

It was deorbited on November 11, 2008, and its replacement, NigComsat-1R, was launched on December 19, 2011. 

Meanwhile, in 2014, NigeriaSat-1, which cost the country $13 million, was decommissioned and burned up in a controlled reentry into Earth’s atmosphere by engineers and scientists of the NASRDA.