In the lead up to the Namibian general elections, one of the opposition parties, the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) promised that, if elected, it would make Namibia a player in the satellite information industry by “building of satellites and placing [them] into orbit”. While this plan was met with bemusement by many Namibians who cited more pressing issues, it reflects a contemporary impetus to explore, capture and capitalise on the space frontier. The question we have to ask ourselves is: should Africa and its leaders, such as LPM’s Bernardus Swartbooi, join the space race despite Africa’s other pressing problems?
The space race is about security
Mostly portrayed through science fiction and the outrageous capitalist endeavours of Elon Musk, the space race is largely misunderstood when understood solely in terms of this race. Indeed, human colonies on Mars and other planets may be of interest to the few whose vast resources do not confine them to the planetary realm, however, for many states the space race is about security.
The space race began with the Cold War, as the USSR and the United States battled to signal their position as the world’s top dog in a time of heightening tensions and the proliferation of proxy conflicts. This battle culminated in Louis Armstrong stepping on the moon and declaring that one major step had been made for humanity after the United States had spent about USD 30 billion from the launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957 to the moon landing in 1969. Born out of the politics of the cold war, the space race has been markedly associated with security: security as a signal of power, as in the 1969 moon landing, and security as a safeguard of territorial integrity and well-being.
Today, the space race has left the American sphere of influence and Africa has decided to become a forthright contender. Some 60 satellites have been put into orbit by African nations – the latest of which was launched by Senegal in October. Last year, Djibouti launched Djibouti 1A, Uganda launched PearlAfricaSat-1 and Zimbabwe launched ZimSat-1 with plans to launch two more satellites in the coming months. Meanwhile in neighbouring Namibia, where the opposition has promised to make space activity a catalyzer of progress, a local private equity fund manager Eos Capital has begun plans to develop the Namibia Space Port project. At a satellite’s launch, the Senegalese president said that the extraterrestrial asset is a major step towards “technological sovereignty”.
The term sovereignty, when used by politicians, is often a dog whistle for independence from foreign, and often Western dependence, and in truth, Africa has long been largely dependent on the West for any extraterrestrial resources and research. This status quo could not continue due to the sensitive information captured by satellites that threatens sovereignty and security. This includes geospatial data as satellites collect detailed images and data about the territories they cover, including military installations, infrastructure, and resource locations. In addition, data transmitted through satellite communications channels can be intercepted by intelligence institutions and cyber criminals. Owning one’s extraterrestrial resources has therefore become a modern security need.
The dilemma of Africa’s race to space
However, as the Namibian responses to LPM’s plans showed, Africa may have more pressing needs. The provision of basic services on the continent has been found wanting. In Namibia for example, statistics have shown that 41% of the population or an estimated 1.26 million Namibians will face emergency hunger between October 2024 and March 2025. Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe too, discontent is growing over food insecurity, hyperinflation, harsher living conditions, and rising poverty. So what are these space adventures actually good for?
I asked Cameroonian medical doctor, Yvan Zolo, who is also a participant in the 2023 Space4Women-United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs Expert Meeting and a member of the Space Generation Advisory Council, what motivates African explorers of the space frontier. According to Dr Zolo, “Africa’s space programmes should not just be about joining the global space race; they represent a strategic investment in addressing critical challenges such as healthcare, education, agriculture, and disaster management. By leveraging space technologies, African nations can enhance telemedicine, improve resource management, and monitor environmental changes, bridging the gap between infrastructure limitations and the pressing need for development.”
Although the space race began as a security competition, satellites do more than capture data about the comings and goings of military operations and communications. For many African states in space, most of the data collected by satellites is environmental- Ghana’s SAT4Farming programme launched in 2017 monitors the coastal environment and has helped cocoa farmers model their farming activities based on climate conditions. Similarly, South Africa’s MDASat collects critical marine data to monitor illegal fishing in protected areas. These extraterrestrial resources have use ranging from providing geospatial data to enhance emergency healthcare provision, to improving agriculture in an age of climate change, and to monitoring the environment.
The challenge for African nations in this frontier is to shift from extra-continental to intra-continental collaboration. The African continent currently does not have any space launch facilities of its own and most satellites are sent into space with the help of American and European firms. For example, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched both the South African MDASat satellite in 2022 and the Senegalese GaindeSAT-1A. Similarly, through the Belt and Road Initiative, China has built at least six African satellites. South Africa has plans to operationalise Africa’s first deep space ground station facility in the Karoo region by 2025. This hints at strategic thinking in the right direction.
