Ethiopia is gearing up to launch its third Earth observation satellite by 2026, in collaboration with China. This new satellite is expected to have better image quality than its predecessors, ETRSS-01 and ET-SMART-RSS, which were launched in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
The Ethiopian Space Science and Geospatial Institute (ESGI) announced that the satellite will be designed to track environmental shifts, advance agricultural planning, and aid in disaster relief.
The new satellite is part of Ethiopia’s efforts to improve its space technology capabilities. With the help of China, the country aims to strengthen its capacity to monitor the environment, plan agriculture, and respond to disasters. Tesfaye Fufa, executive director of ESGI’s Satellite Monitoring Department, confirmed that launch preparations are underway.
This development comes as Africa continues to make strides in space exploration. Zimbabwe recently launched its third observation satellite, ZimSat-3, while Tanzania announced plans to establish its first-ever Space Agency in the 2024/2025 fiscal year. By the end of 2022, Africa had successfully launched at least 52 satellites, with plans to increase this number in the coming years.
