Acta Astronautica 71 (2012) 119–128
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Acta Astronautica
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/actaastro
Recent design and utilization trends of small satellites
in developing countries$
Mohamed B. Argoun
Cairo University, Department Aerospace Engineering, Egyptian Space Program, Egyptsat-1, Giza, Egypt
a r t i c l e i n f o
abstract
Article history:
Received 24 April 2011
Received in revised form
24 July 2011
Accepted 30 July 2011
Available online 23 September 2011
Several small remote sensing satellites have been developed and launched during the
last decade by several developing countries in Africa, the Middle East and East Asia.
These satellites share among them several features; chief among them is that they were
developed for use in developmental planning and to gain access to space technology. The
first generation of those satellites had a relatively course resolution of about 30 m, but
the second generation reaches a resolution of 2.5 m. This group of satellites also have
‘‘similar’’ designs, which stems from the fact that they were developed to achieve a
similar purpose: introducing developing countries to space technology and application
through small remote sensing satellites. The other side of building national space
programs in developing nations is building the technological base for satellite manufacturing, building the infrastructure for operation and utilization of these satellites and
most importantly building the user community and the user applications, which uses
these results for sustainable development. This paper attempts to assess the degree to
which these objectives were achieved for various satellites. In addition to these more
‘‘programmatic’’ aspects, the paper attempts to shed light, from published information,
on some aspects of the recent trends in designs of small remote sensing satellites.
& 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords:
Satellite
Space technology
Space programs
Developing countries
1. Introduction
Small satellites, mainly for remote sensing have
emerged during the last two decades as an effective tool
for enabling developing countries to enter the space field
and benefit from space technology [1].
The concept of building indigenous small satellites in
developing countries as a means of transferring space technology to these countries and expanding the base of satellite
product use has emerged in the 1990’s. Several satellite
manufacturing companies started offering this technology
in the form of satellite technology transfer packages including
training and know-how to developing countries.
Several developing countries adopted this concept of
transfer of space technology through building of small
$
This paper was presented during the 61st IAC in Prague.
E-mail address: [email protected]
0094-5765/$ - see front matter & 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.07.024
satellites and acquiring the technology and training in the
process. A number of studies have appeared, which report
and examine the emergence and evolution of space
programs in developing countries on a regional basis. For
example, Romero [2] examines and discusses the space
programs in five Latin American developing countries.
However, as the development of these space programs
progressed, it became clear that the sustainability of the
process depends more on the stimulation of demand of
space products than on the technical specifications and
the initial success of building the first satellite.
The first satellites were usually built by the satellite
manufacturing company, which is transferring the technology. The second satellite and the following space products
(smaller satellites, satellite components, etc.) are the ones
typically built by the developing country. To gage the
success of a developing country space program we have
to examine the extent to which its satellites and components are built by local and indigenous entities.
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M.B. Argoun / Acta Astronautica 71 (2012) 119–128
We argue here that the building of the second generation satellites will not be attractive unless there is
significant utilization of the first satellite products. Therefore, there is a need to concentrate on spreading the use of
remote sensing satellite products, expand the satellite
imagery user community and create new value added
products in order to show the economic benefits and
sustain the momentum for developing countries to enter
into the space field.
Moreover, the government interest in building the
second generation satellites frequently wanes and sometimes stops after the immediate return from launching
the first satellite is obtained. In this case the scientific
space community must resort to other means to maintain
the momentum of acquiring and building the space
technology base in the developing country. Such means
include building smaller satellites (Cubesats) [3], building
satellites in universities, building subsystems rather
than complete satellites and finally encouraging research
oriented at design of satellite components and payloads.
In this paper we examine the routes taken by five
developing countries in Africa and Middle East in achieving
the transition from building their first satellites through
international space companies under a technology transfer
and training programs to producing the second generation
satellites indigenously. The countries considered are
Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Turkey. We
examine some of the paths followed for enhancing the
technical capability of these countries to build small
satellites and discuss the factors and measures needed to
maintain the initial momentum, which accompanied the
entry of several developing nations into the space field.
The second section of the paper considers the common
objectives of space programs in developing countries. In
the third section we briefly examine some technology
transfer aspects in the space programs under consideration. This is also extended into the fourth section. In the
fourth section we present the first generation satellites in
more detail. The fifth section deals with the second
generation satellites and discusses the paths taken by
different countries to implement this phase of their space
programs. We also discuss various design changes and
take a look at the technical changes and programmatic
ways of entering into this second phase. In Section 6, we
present an important initiative for cooperation in building
a joint small remote sensing satellite (AFRICASAT) based
on the experience and know how those developing
countries gained in the first phase of developing their
national space programs. The last section deals with the
utilization of satellite products, which we stress is an
essential element in ensuring the sustainability of space
programs in developing countries.
2. Common features and objectives of space programs in
developing countries
When space programs started in the developing countries in Africa and the middle east they had the following
common objectives.
2.1. Build and launch first national satellite.
2.2. Acquire knowledge and know-how by building indigenous satellites.
2.3. Transfer knowledge and know-how to local industry.
2.4. Engage national universities and research centers in
space research and technology.
2.5. Increase the utilization of space applications and
products.
2.6. Establish a National Space Agency.
Table 1 shows general features of space programs in
the five developing nations considered in this study. The
agencies within which these programs were developed are:
i) Algerian Space Agency.
ii) National Space Research and Development
Agency—Nigeria.
iii) National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space
Sciences, NARSS, Egypt.
iv) Stellenbosch Univ., South Africa.
v) Space Technologies Research Institute, Turkey.
Approximately a decade has passed since the various
countries launched their respective space programs. These
space programs have evolved generally along similar paths
with some variations due to varying conditions in each
country. In the following we discuss briefly the status and
achievement of each of the space programs under study.
Table 1
General features of Space Programs in five developing nations.
Item
Algeria
Nigeria
Egypt
South Africa
Turkey [4]
Year space program
started
First satellite name
Launch date
Ground resolution
Company/agency/
country cooperated
with
Agency supervising
Status of second
generation satellite
2002
1999
1999
1991
2001
Alsat-1
November 2002
32 m
Surrey, UK
NigeriaSat-1
September 2003
32 m
Surrey, UK
Egyptsat-1
17/4/2007
7.8 m
Yuzhnoye/Ukraine
SunSat
February 1999
15 m
Indigenous
BilSat
2003
27.6 m
SSTL,UL
ASA (i)
Alsat-2A
Launched July
2010
NASRDA (ii)
Nigeriasat-2
planned for
launch in 2011
NARSS (iii)
Not yet started
SU (iv)
SumbandilaSatlaunched
17 September 2009
UZAY (v)
Manufactured and
shipped for launch
7/2011
M.B. Argoun / Acta Astronautica 71 (2012) 119–128
3. Technology transfer within the space programs
The first satellites were generally very successful. Their
success however was more a testament to the capabilities
of the companies that manufactured them than a testament to the strength of the space programs in the developing nations. That last aspect can be measured by the
number of engineers and specialists who were trained, the
level they achieved in technology transfer and the share
they contributed in the next generation satellites.
In the case of Egyptsat-1 the number of engineers and
specialists trained was 64 covering virtually all areas of
design, manufacturing and testing of small satellites. The
experience transferred to them is recorded in a large
number of documents written for that purpose. The
structural and engineering models of the satellite were
transferred to Egypt and are used for training. Test
equipment used for testing the satellite components and
subsystems was transferred to Egypt and erected in an
Engineering Model Lab where a functioning model of the
satellite is operating and used for training and troubleshooting. A team of satellite operators comprising about
30 engineers was trained for operating the satellite both
on the control and the receiving ends and are currently
operating the satellite independently.
Each of the regional developing countries, which
started a space program in the late nineties of the last
century, has launched a functional first satellite.
In Table 2 we provide a brief list of the salient
technical features of the first remote sensing satellites in
the five nations considered. The technology transfer
aspect of the remaining space programs is discussed in
the following section.
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The satellite included a GPS receiver, laser reflectors,
magnetometers, star camera, Amateur Radio communications and a 15 m resolution, 3456 pixel, 3-band push
broom imager.
The satellite structure adopted a modular tray structure where each tray included some elements of the
various subsystems (Fig. 2). The optical system has a
diameter of 10 cm and a focal length of 570 mm. The
pixel size of 10.7 mm translates into 15.01 m from 800 km.
The swath width is 3456 pixels 15.01 m ¼51.9 km. An 8
bit image data handling system is used including a
64 Mbyte RAM disk for onboard image storing. The
attitude control system employed reaction wheels during
imaging and magnetorquers for course attitude control.
An extendable tip mass is used for attitude stabilization.
Several images were successfully taken and transmitted to the ground from SUNSAT satellite. Some of
these results as well as more details on the technical
aspects of the satellite are reported in [6].
SunSat failed in orbit a short period after launch in
1999 but South Africa benefited from the developed
technology, which reflected in the first indigenous second
generation satellite in Africa: Sumbandilasat [7].
4.2. AlSat-1
The first phase of the Algerian Space Program
depended on training and know-how transfer to a core
group of Algerian engineers who participated in design
and building of AlSat-1. The satellite Al-Sat-1 is the first
generation Algerian satellite and is designed and built by
4. Overview of first generation satellites in the region
4.1. SUNSAT—the first satellite in Africa
In the early days of the development of small satellite
technology transfer activity South Africa developed
and launched the first satellite in all developing countries
namely SunSat satellite, developed by Stallenbush University. SUNSAT was launched on a NASA sponsored Delta II
launch on February 23, 1999 (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. SUNSAT in-orbit configuration.
Table 2
Developing countries’ first satellites.
Country
Algeria
Nigeria
Egypt
South Africa
Turkey
Satellite Name
Weight (kg)
Orbit-sun synchronous
Multispectral/Panchromatic
Ground resolution (RBG) (m)
Swath width
Near Infra Red (NIR)
Operational Status
Algeria Sat-1
100
680 km
32
NigeriaSat-1
100
686 km
32
Egyptsat-1
165
668 km
7.8
SUNSAT
64
–
15
BilSAT
129
686 km
26.7/12.6
10 m multi-spectral,
2.5 m panchromatic
52 km
–
Problems in orbit
reported July 1999
6.5 m
–
26.7 m
–
Specifications of next generation
satellite payload
45 km
39 m
Lifetime expired after
39 months in orbit
2.5 m multispectral
640 km
600 km
–
–
Operational as of 2009 Lifetime expired
5 m multi-spectral,
2.5 m panchromatic
–
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M.B. Argoun / Acta Astronautica 71 (2012) 119–128
Fig. 3. Alsat-1 structure.
country’s national Earth observation needs. The technical
features of NigeriaSat-1 are similar to those of AlSat-1 and
BiLSat-1. The NigeriaSat-1 satellite was launched on the
27th of September, 2003 [18].
4.4. Turkey’s space program first phase
Fig. 2. SUNSAT Tray structure.
SSTL Ltd. The satellite carries a 32 m ground resolution
with a swath width of 600 km. The satellite has dimensions of 60 60 60 cm3 and weighs 98 kg. The satellite
attitude control system has 2 ADCS modules each comprises one magnetometer, two sun-sensors and three
coiled magnetorquers. The satellite has two booms, which
help in stability. The satellite is equipped with a propulsion system with 50 mN thrust and two tanks with a
2.5 litre capacity for each. The optical payload is supported by a total storage capacity of two 0.5 Gbytes of
data, which could be downloaded at 8 Mbps (Fig. 3).
4.3. NigeriaSat-1
The first phase of the Nigerian Space Program included
building of the NigeriaSAT-1 satellite by SSTL Ltd., and
training of 15 Nigerian engineers in a Know-How Technology Training (KHTT), which extended over a fifteen
month period of training in the design and building of all
subsystems of the NigeriaSat-1 spacecraft.
The NigeriaSat-1 spacecraft is similar to AlSat-1 and
BiLSAT, which were built for Algeria and Turkey by the
same company. The satellite, as the other two satellites, is
part of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation, DMC, a
collaborative effort for monitoring of natural and man
made disasters all over the globe as well as satisfying the
The Turkish space technology transfer team comprised
a core of 8 engineers in different disciplines alongside four
M.Sc. students and a number of academic staff and
technicians at TUBITAK UZAY, TUBITAK Space Technologies Research Institute. The core team gained their
experience through working on the development of the
engineering model and testing of the BILSAT flight model.
Turkish involvement in BILSAT development included two
payloads designed and built by Turkish team. The first,
named COBAN, is a nine-band low resolution multispectral imager. The second, named GEZGIN, is a DSP
based image processing module, which is used to compress images taken by BILSAT-1’s on board cameras [5].
The BILSAT satellite itself on which the Turkish team
received their first phase training and know-how is a 130 kg
satellite built by SSTL Ltd. and carries a 32-meter resolution
imager in 3 spectral bands, in addition to the experimental
payloads COBAN, GEZIN built by the Turkish team. The
satellite was launched on 27th September, 2003 (Fig. 4).
4.5. First Egyptian satellite: Egyptsat-1
EgyptSat-1 is the first Egyptian remote sensing satellite.
It is designed and built by the Ukrainian firm Yuzhnoye
SDO. The satellite was successfully launched on 17th April,
2007. The satellite was part of a program to transfer satellite
technology to Egypt through partnership with an advanced
space faring nation. There was a strong element of training
M.B. Argoun / Acta Astronautica 71 (2012) 119–128
123
Fig. 4. Bilsat 1 [SSTL].
and learning by participation from the Egyptian side. Sixty
four Egyptian engineers and specialists received their
experience this way through participation in all phases of
the satellite design, building, testing, launch and operation.
Here are some of the salient technical features of the
satellite. The Egyptsat-1 satellite is a three axes controlled
satellite with resolution of 7.8 m on the main multispectral
scanner. The satellite payload consists of two cameras and
a store and forward communication payload. Egypt-Sat-1
main architecture was the star topology architecture based
on a central command data handling subsystem, which
organizes the data handling between all satellite subsystems, and between satellite and ground (Figs. 5 and 6).
The EgyptSat-1 satellite comprises the following Subsystems and components:
Fig. 5. EgyptSat-1 subsytems.
Satellite structure
Power subsystem (PSS)
Platform command and data handling subsystem
(PCDHS)
Attitude determination and control subsystem (ADCS)
processing unit
four reaction wheels (RW)
J star sensor (SS)
J magnetometer (MM)
J 3 magnetorquers (MT)
J angular velocity meter (Gyro)
Communcation subsystem (CSS)
J S-Band
J X-Band
Global positioning system (GPS)
Telemetry module (TM)
Seperation transducers
J
J
Fig. 6. General view of EgyptSat-1.
Payload
J
J
J
Payload Command and Data Handling Subsystem
(PLCDHS)
Multi-band Earth Imager (MBEI)
Middle-IR Earth Imager (MIER)
Table 3 above summarizes the salient technical features of Egyptsat-1.
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M.B. Argoun / Acta Astronautica 71 (2012) 119–128
Table 3
EgyptSat-1 main characteristcs and features.
Feature
Value
Feature
Satellite total mass (kg)
Payload subsystem
mass (kg)
Scanner type
Resolution: multispectral scanner
Swath width
Orbit type
Altitude (km)
Inclination (deg)
Ascending node local time
Attitude control Subsystem
Type
Accuracy at imaging
Angular rate of stabilization at imaging (deg/s)
Tilting- pitch and roll
Attitude determination
165
Lifetime
full performance
3 years
reduced performance
2 years
Middle Infra-Red Earth Imager (MIREI)
Resolution- NIR Scanner
39 m
Swath width
–
Power subsystem
Maximum
270
Daily average
53
Solar cells
deploayable
Communication system
S-band control frequency
2089 Mhz
S-band telemetry
2268.6 Mhz
X-band downlink
8192 Mhz
Launch vehicle
Dneper-1
49
Push Broom
7.8 m
46 km
Sun synchronous
668 km
98
22:30
Active – 3 axes
0.21
0.005
7 351
Star sensor based
5. Second phase of space programs in
developing countries
All of the five developing countries studied in this
paper have successfully launched and operated their first
satellites and have entered the second phase of their
respective space programs. Those first satellites were
built within satellite technology transfer programs conducted by partners from advanced space faring countries
with the exception of South Africa, which had a first
generation indigenously built satellite, SunSat.
In the following we discuss the various approaches
taken by these countries to build their second generation
satellites. Six directions in satellite and subsystems design
and development can be identified among developing
nations in the region after the launch of their first
satellite. A seventh track is proposed through regional
cooperation between the developing countries with the
support of an international element represented by the
UN office for outer space.
The current approaches for building second generation
satellites in developing countries are as follows:
5.1 Building larger and more powerful satellites in
close cooperation with more advanced space faring
countries.
5.2 Development of indigenous satellites based on the
experience gained in first satellites.
5.3 Building similar versions of the first satellite to preserve the technology base, replace the existing or
expired satellites or as training and technology transfer models.
5.4 Building scaled down versions of the first satellite
(e.g. University satellites).
5.5 Building smaller types of satellites as a building stone
of experience and acquisition of know-how (CubeSats
and Nano Satellites).
5.6 Building subsystems and components.
In addition to building satellites some developing
countries have taken the path of building satellite
Value
components and subsystems either to enhance the technological and industrial base or simply because it is a
lower funding sub-track.
Finally the approach of building a joint African
satellite among developing space faring countries in
Africa is proposed as a feasible and useful option for
sustaining and supporting the space programs in developing countries.
In the following we discuss the different approaches
taken by developing countries in the Africa and Middle
East region in the design and development of second
generation satellites.
5.1. Larger and more powerful satellites:
Nigeria and Algeria were among the developing nations
in Africa, which followed the direction of building larger and
more powerful satellites. These two countries adopted the
approach of building the second satellite in close cooperation
with partners from well developed space faring nations.
Nigeria chose to build NigeriaSat-2 with SSTL of UK. The
satellite is planned to be launched in the first quarter of
2011. NigeriaSat-2 is a powerful remote sensing satellite,
which weighs 285 kg with ground resolution of 2.5 m
panchromatic and 5 m multispectral [5]. The satellite is
equipped with a 32 m imaging mode to be compatible with
the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC), an initiative,
which has five countries and five satellites participating for
joint monitoring of disaster areas. The spacecraft is based on
the SSTL advanced SSTL-300i satellite platform.
The second generation high resolution Algerian satellite was launched on July 12, 2010. The satellite named
AlSat-2A is designed and built by EDAS/Astrium Corporation and is based on its AstroSat-100 platform. The
satellite has a ground resolution of 2.5 m.
5.2. Development of indigenous satellites
5.2.1. South Africa
The second track in satellite technology development in
African and Middle Eastern countries is to build the country’s
M.B. Argoun / Acta Astronautica 71 (2012) 119–128
indigenous follow up satellite based on the country’s own
experience and capabilities. This approach is taken by South
Africa, which has a much stronger industrial base than the
other four countries that have satellite technology transfer
programs in the form of the SumbandilaSat [7].
5.2.2. Turkey
The other indigenous satellite being built in the region
is the Turkish satellite RASAT [4,5], an experimental
satellite, which is built within the scope of the second
phase of the Turkish Space Program. The satellite is part of
a development project for a LEO satellite with 7 m ground
resolution. ‘‘RASAT’’ was designed and manufactured in
Turkey by the space division of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK).
5.2.3. Algeria
Algeria is planning to build Alsat-2B satellite in collaboration with Astrium using its 30 engineers and specialists
who received training during the process of building AlSat2A. The agreement signed in 2006 by CNTS (Algerian
National Space Technology Center) with EADS/Astrium calls
for 2 satellites. The second of those satellites Algeriasat-2B
will be integrated in Algeria within the small satellite
development center (UPDS) in Oran, Algiers [5].
5.2.4. Egypt
In the case of Egypt the original strategy of the space
program called for building EgyptSat-2, which is a developed version of Egyptsat-1 with enhanced resolution and
increased component of local design and manufacturing.
Egyptsat-2 was planned to have 60% local component of
design and manufacturing.
The most technically feasible satellite design is a
modified and more evolved version of Egyptsat-1 with a
resolution of about 5.4 m. This is the resolution thought to
preserve, absorb and deepen most of the technology used
in Egyptsat-1. In this satellite the payload will be different
from that of Egyptsat-1 but most of the satellite subsystems will be an extended version of Egyptsat-1 subsystems. In this future satellite the Store and Forward
payload is expected to be removed. The satellite is likely
to be built by NARSS with limited foreign cooperation.
Currently, work has not started in Egyptsat-2 beyond
the initial phases of mission analysis and preliminary
design and it is doubtful that the satellite will be launched
in the next year i.e. 2012 as was originally planned.
Other ideas of a satellite with 2.5 m resolution are
being discussed, but in this case the indigenous content
will be very limited.
In the absence or delay of a decision to build a second
generation satellite in a developing country the technology
base of a space industry might erode. To avoid such erosion
and to preserve the momentum and know-how several
alternative approaches are available to a developing country. The alternatives are in the form of similar satellites,
university satellites, Cubesats and building of satellite
subsystems. These alternatives are proposed for the Egyptian space program and some are actually implemented.
125
5.3. Building similar versions of the first satellite to preserve
the technology and replace expired satellites
This approach applies in the cases of Egypt and
Nigeria. Egypt has recently lost contact with its first
generation satellite EgyptSat-1 and needs a replacement
satellite. A replacement satellite can be built indigenously
in Egypt within the current technical and infrastructure
capability of the country.
No major changes in this case are expected to be
introduced to the design of Egyptsat-1 except for the removal
of the Middle Infra Red scanner and the Store and Forward
payload and associated changes.
The rationale for this alternative is that the cycle of
technology transfer is not complete without building an
indigenous satellite based on the heritage and technology
of the first satellite EgyptSat-1. Building a similar satellite
preserves the heritage of EgyptSat-1, builds on it and
enhances the process of technology transfer. The heritage
of Egyptsat-1, which supports this approach, is presented
in the following:
a) A proven satellite design, which shortens the cycle of
development.
b) Proven satellite building and testing technology and
methods acquired through the first experience.
c) Documentation of all design drawings, calculations, software, testing methods and results, which are provided
with the original Egyptsat-1 satellite.
d) Test equipment of all satellite subsystems.
e) Engineering model laboratory, which includes a full
functioning version of the satellite Egyptsat-1 together
with test equipment and connections for operation
and troubleshooting of all subsystems.
f) A large pool of trained engineers in satellite design,
testing and operation.
Building a similar satellite to EgyptSat-1 has the following advantages:
a) It falls within the capability of the trained team and
can be built completely indigenously, possibly with
some minor assistance from abroad.
b) It deepens and enhances the technology base by full
utilization and absorption of the transferred technology.
c) Some designs can be used as are in the original
satellite thus reducing cost, time and effort.
d) Low cost, being built and tested in the country.
e) It provides a replacement to the first operational
satellite EgyptSat-1.
In the case of Nigeria the rationale for building a
similar satellite is different. It is built alongside NigeriaSat-2. Built as a technology transfer and training model,
this mode of enhancing the technology transfer process
depends on building a similar model to the satellite built
by the technology transferring company for hands on
training. The training model is named NigeriaSat-X and
is developed with the participation of twelve Nigerian
engineers and scientists at the premises of SSTL [9,10].
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M.B. Argoun / Acta Astronautica 71 (2012) 119–128
The satellite, which will be launched alongside NigeriaSat-2, has a 22 m resolution and is compatible with the
specifications of the DMC satellites.
5.4. Build a scaled down version of first satellites
(university satellites)
Both SunSat [6] and Sumbandilasat [7,8] satellites of
South Africa are university built satellites. Schoonwinkel
and Milne [8] give some useful experiences on building
satellites in a university environment. Building a scaled
down version of the first satellite to preserve and enhance
the transferred technology is the basis of Egypt’s UNIVERSAT, which is discussed in the following section. This
satellite is proposed to be built cooperatively by several
Egyptian Universities with Cairo University taking the lead.
The objectives of the satellite project are several folds:
1. Preserve the design and technological heritage of
Egyptsat-1. It is well known that technology transfer
is not complete without the hands-on practical experience obtained through building and testing of a complete indigenous satellite.
2. Expand the technological base of space industry by
transferring the technology to the universities, which
are the largest pool of scientific personnel in a country
like Egypt.
3. Gaining any detailed hands-on experience of building
satellite subsystems and assemblies, which was not
fully obtained during the first phase of the space
program i.e. the phase of technology transfer by direct
contact with the transferring agent.
The UNIVERSAT satellite is planned to carry a single
payload consisting of a 10 m ground resolution optical
scanner. The satellite weight is required to be in the 80 kg
range (EgyptSat-1 is 165 kg). UNIVERSAT is hoped to
provide an indigenously built basic platform for future
Egyptian satellites and missions. The funding for the
project is sought from Cairo University, NARSS and STDF
(Science and Technology Development Fund in Egypt).
5.5. Build CubeSats and other smaller satellites
Cubesats are a useful educational and technology transfer tool for satellite technology. This type of small satellites
is gaining wide acceptance in universities and in space
programs of developed and developing nations alike. In
Egypt there is a project for building Cubesats with joint
funding from STDF of Egypt and the European Union [17].
5.6. Build critical satellite subsystems
In order to have a serious indigenous satellite building
capability a developing country or an agency in that country
must be able to build and test satellite subsystems successfully. Among the usual satellite subsystems two subsystems
present engineering and technological challenges, namely
the payload and the ADCS. As a step toward building
indigenous satellites, whether it is a replacement satellite
to Egyptsat-1 or UNIVERSAT there is a joint project between
NARSS and Cairo University to design, build and test the
two critical subsystems: the payload and ADCS. Once
this project proceeds toward implementation other subsystems will be built and tested in a second phase of the
project. The third phase will be assembly and integration of
the engineering model.
In Turkey a similar approach is taken where an R&D
sub-program is established alongside the main BiLSAT
program to propose, design and build two of the BilSAT
research and development payloads: a nine channel
medium resolution imager named COBAN and a high
performance digital signal processing card named GEZIN,
both of which were manufactured in Turkey [4].
6. International and regional cooperation
International space projects is an effective way of
sharing the technology and lowering cost. In case of
developing nations we also add the motivation of sustaining the momentum of budding space programs. As mentioned in [2], Rao [11] has suggested that developing
countries should establish ‘‘their own regional and multilateral programs’’ for promoting space technology. In [12]
a small satellite project was proposed to be developed by
Eastern and South-Eastern European countries.
The objectives, designs and main features of a regional
satellite project suitable for developing countries of a
certain region depends on certain features and factors
specific to that particular region. Among these features
and factors is the number of countries participating,
average or overall level of industry in those countries
and the degree of political maturity, which allows regional cooperation rather than unnecessary competition in
certain fields. Also, former or existing cooperation programs play a role in promoting wider scope projects. In
case of satellite projects the common features of first
generation satellites is an asset.
For the region of Africa there are common features in
the development of their space programs that motivate
proposing a joint satellite project.
The motivation and objectives for the proposed initiative are as follows:
1. To guarantee the continuation and momentum of
developing space industry in African nations by adding
an international element to their space programs.
2. To provide a basic platform for various African countries satellite missions.
3. To provide a pool of data for use of space technology in
development of Africa.
4. To enhance the process of technology building by
providing a feasible technical challenge of building and
testing a subsystem and integrating the overall satellite.
5. A step toward regional and international collaboration,
which helps establish the norms of such cooperation in
the future between developing countries.
6. To provide a low cost alternative for continuation of the
space programs for countries, which lack the funding.
M.B. Argoun / Acta Astronautica 71 (2012) 119–128
7. To gain experience and fine tune current capabilities in
scientific international projects management.
7. AfricaSat: a joint satellite proposal among all space
faring developing countries in Africa
AfricaSat is a proposed initiative, which was first
presented at the 61st International Astronautical Congress
IAC in Prague, 27 September–1 October, 2010 [16] to
enhance effective satellite technology transfer to African
Nations and support space programs currently ongoing at
those countries. The countries expected to benefit and
participate in this initiative are South Africa, Nigeria,
Algeria and Egypt. A representation by the United Nations
Office of Outer Space is thought to provide coherence and
adds to the success of the initiative.
This proposed satellite development is thought to
enhance the existing African Resource Management Constellation ARMC initiative already in progress. The AfricaSat platform once developed could be the base for future
satellites within the ARMC.
7.1. Technical features of the proposed satellite
Technical features of the satellite are selected to suit
the current level of know-how and technology acquired
by the intended developing countries.
1. The proposed satellite is a small (80 Kg) satellite,
which carries a 10 m resolution multispectral imager.
This is an intermediate resolution between the high
resolution of 2.5 m and 6.5 m carried by the second
generation advanced satellites and the 32 m resolution
of some of the first generation satellites.
2. The technical features of the various subsystems should
reflect the evolved features and designs of the four
satellites leading to this joint satellite, namely: Sumbandilasat, NigeriaSat-2, AlgeriaSat-2 and Egyptsat-1.
The process and steps of realizing this project are
envisaged as follows:
1. The initiative will be presented and discussed in
various small satellite conferences and meetings
where fine tuning and consensus will be reached.
2. The overall satellite design will be made by a system
engineering and overall design group formed from
representatives of all nations.
3. Each country will build a subsystem of the satellite in
its own territory.
Project management:
1. A management and system engineering group will be
formed with representatives from all countries.
2. Management meetings will be held in different countries successively once every four months. The progress reports will be presented and the necessary
decisions will be made.
3. A review and quality control process will be instated.
127
Funding:
Each country will fund its own activity and will build
the necessary capacity to conduct this activity.
The role of UNOOSA:
The success of such an initiative requires the role of
the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs as a
binding and monitoring agent. The United Nations Office
of Outer Space Affairs UNOOSA is implementing the
United Nations Program on Space Applications. Under
that program a new initiative dedicated to support capacity building in basic space technology development was
recently launched. The initiative is called Basic Space
Technology Initiative BSTI [19]1.
8. Utilization of indigenous small satellites in developing
countries
As mentioned earlier, the utilization of satellite images
in national development plans in any developing country
is the strongest factor in supporting the cause of sustainable space programs’ development. For this reason the
space authorities in developing countries must direct a
portion of its efforts to spread the use of space products
and introduction of new value added means of creating
the market for space technology and hardware products.
The level of utilization of space products, namely
images and data is generally low in all of the developing
nations. There is no available metric for measuring the
level of utilization of images. One suggested measure is
the number and topics of publication in the various
conferences and publication journals in the field, and
specifically the regional conferences.
In Egypt a joint US-Egypt workshop was held under
the title ‘‘Joint US-Egypt workshop for Space Technology and
Geoinformation for Sustainable Development’’ Cairo, June
14–17, 2010 to present and encourage the results of using
Egyptsat-1 and similar satellites for development. More
than forty papers were presented mostly displaying
results of using Egyptsat-1 images in various applications
such as crop measurement, water resource management
and archeology among others. We list 2 papers [13,14]
presented in this workshop as examples of work that
started to build up using Egyptsat-1 images. Many other
examples are found in that workshop and on the website.
Along the same line some 24 proposals for projects
utilizing the space products of Egyptsat-1 and similar
satellites were suggested during the workshop. The funding of these proposals and others will be on a competitive
basis from the joint US-Egypt funding for science and
technology. The workshop and the proposals are examples of the work needed to encourage the utilization of
space products in developing countries. It is suggested
that this could be the strongest motivation for developing
next generation small remote sensing satellites in developing countries.
The results of the use of indigenous satellite images in
other countries are reported in various space technology
1
The author is thankful to the anonymous reviewer for suggesting
the BSTI initiative as a possible framework for discussing the proposed
AfricaSat project.
128
M.B. Argoun / Acta Astronautica 71 (2012) 119–128
and remote sensing conferences. One example of the uses
of AlSat-1 satellite is given in Ref. [15].
9. Conclusion
In this paper we followed the progress and current
status of the second phase of space programs in five
developing countries in Africa and the Middle East. We
traced the trends and directions of development of second
generation satellites in these countries. The paths to
development of second generation satellites ranged from
moving along the same lines of the first satellites, i.e. as a
means of transfer of satellite technology with higher
specifications, to the development of a various mix of
scaled down satellites, training model satellites and
smaller Cubesats and Nano satellites. In several countries
there is movement to develop subsystems and some
components of small satellites. Effective efforts to develop
a truly indigenous satellite have succeeded in the case of
South Africa. Finally, the merits and advantages of a
proposal to develop a regional joint satellite (AfricaSat)
among African space faring countries are presented.
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