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National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) In 1998, the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria. The administration also set up a National Council on Space Science Technology to oversee the program, underscoring the importance with which government viewed the program, President Obasanjo was the chairman while Vice President Abubakar Atiku was the vice chairman.
The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) is part of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology. The primary objective of NASRDA was to establish a fundamental policy for the development of space science and technology and to establish and coordinate the activities of Space Research Centres in the country. NASRDA will spend $93m in the development of a space program. Initial funding for NASRDA is spread over four years, beginning in 2001, after which it is expected to generate its own renenues.
The Ministry of Science and Technology started its existence as a Council in 1970 and then became for the first time, a full-fledged ministry in 1980. Consequently, the effective life span of the ministry is several decades, but unfortunately for the greater part of this period, it has been very bitter. This was a result of the ministry's checkered history of being merged and demerged from one ministry to the other until it finally got scrapped in 1992 and then got reestablished by the Shonekan interim Administration in 1993.
NASRDA was to have six centres including one handling space transport and propulsion. A space command centre at the Nigerian defence ministry was to be created. The Centre for Atmospheric Sciences and Astronomy (CASA) at the University of Nigeria Nsukka is one of the four campus-based Centres for Space Science and Technology created by the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA). The African Regional Center for Space Science and Technology Education – English [ARCSTEE] operates under the auspices of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) Abuja. The history of this center can be traced back to a conference held in Vienna in 1982 (UNISPACE 82), which made a recommendation to the United Nations to help develop indigenous capabilities in space science and technology at the local level. While Nigeria was picked (with Obafemi Awolowo University as the host institution), to serve African countries where English is one of the official languages, it was decided that there was need for a separate center to cater for “Francophone” African countries. That center has since been established in Rabat, Morocco.
The the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) is mandated to coordinate and consolidate all space and technology activities that would lead to development of a Nigerian satellite. By June 2001, government approved the policy and programmes of its Space Technology agenda, thus creating the enabling environment for the actualization of the NigeriaSat-1 project.
NASRDA began by embarking on a technical initiative aimed at building technical know-how among indigenous Nigerian engineers and scientists. Fifteen Nigerians, each selected from different states in the federation, were recruited and sent to the United Kingdom to train on satellite technology. They acquired skills needed to design, fabricate and build the satellite.
Centre for Basic Space Science [CBSS] This is a key to the prosperity of the nation and is crucial to any country's significant economic and social development. Without a sound educational and research base in the field of basic space science, there cannot be any expectation of practical benefits for the country and her citizens. The goal of the Centre for Basic Space Science, therefore, is to pursue capacity building (manpower and infrastructure development) that can address the development needs of the country.
Centre for Satellite Technology Development [CSTD] The Satellite Technology Development Centre shall be the primary focus for the development of satellite payloads for both geostationary and non-geostationary satellites. In particular, the centre shall collaborate with Surrey Satellite Limited in the fabrication and launching of Nigeria's first orbital satellite, NIGERSAT-1. Thereafter it will seek collaboration with other specialized agencies, institutions and companies in capacity building and development of advanced satellite systems for both remote sensing applications and communications.
Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics [CGG] Geodesy and Geodynamics form an integral part of the national participation in international cooperative programmes and projects related to space science. The goal of the Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics is to achieve Nigeria's capability, manpower and hardware development towards sufficiently addressing several important national issues. These include surveying and mapping, remote sensing for mineral exploitation, coastal deformation and subsidence, as well as floods and global mean sea level monitoring. The Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics will be located at Toro, Bauchi State. The choice of Toro is predicated on the solid geological bedrock upon which the town is located. This can serve as an immobile belt on which sensitive tracking systems and other equipment can be situated. In addition, a Global Mean Sea Level Coordination Centre will be established in Bori, Rivers State with monitoring sites in Bonny, Brass, and Forcados. This centre will be responsible for the monitoring of coastal deformations, subsidence, flood and global mean sea level along Nigerian coastal regions.
Centre for Space Transport and Propulsion [CSTP] The Centre for Space Transport and Propulsion will lead the way towards the development of locally built rocketry to literally and figuratively drive Nigerian space program. As the Giant of Africa and the leader of the black world, it is imperative that Nigeria take the initiative in the all important task of developing and acquiring a capability in rocket technology. The objectives of the Centre for Space Transport and Propulsion will be threefold. First, to develop and acquire the technology to manufacture the necessary components for rockets. Second, to develop various types of fuels for rocket propulsion. Finally, to develop the technological capability to launch rockets for both military and civil applications.
National Centre for Remote Sensing, JOS (NCRS] Remote sensing is technology developed to obtain primary data about objects on the surface of the earth observed from the altitude of space. The information obtained through this process is used for the assessment and management of natural resources as well as the environment. For the near term, the plan is to develop the permanent site of the NCRS in Jos as well as to build a national earth observation ground receiving station. The latter will be accomplished through partnerships between Nigerian scientists and selected foreign partners. Training will also be conducted to ensure that Nigerians will be able to run the NCRS and its associated programs themselves. For the longer term, the intense training and education will be utilised towards Nigeria building its own earth observation and communication satellites by the year 2003.
Centre for Space Science and Technology Education [CSSTE] The Centre for Space Science and Technology Education (CSSTE) will serve to enhance the skills of those already knowledgeable in subjects relevant to space science. CESSTE will serve towards the development of skills and knowledge for university educators, research scientists and other personnel in four principal focus areas: remote sensing and geographic information systems, satellite communication and global positioning systems, meteorological satellite applications, and basic space and atmospheric sciences technology. These highly capable Nigerians will then develop curricula and other materials towards training others and building up an expansive talent pool of Nigerians skilled in space science and technology
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Science : Space Nigerian Space Program Isn't a 419 Scam By Mark Anderson 10.19.07
Robert Boroffice, leader of Nigeria's NASRDA, sees endless opportunity in a burgeoning space program. Photo: Mark Anderson Nigeria, a country whose best-known technological export is probably the flowery e-mail output of its "419 scam" artists, is ramping up a scrappy space program that's working wonders with a relatively small investment.
Robert Boroffice, leader of Nigeria's National Space Research and Development Agency, or NASRDA, looks to the sky to solve his country's earthly problems of hunger and disease. The country has launched satellites on the cheap to aid agricultural and medical initiatives and is seriously contemplating building an international spaceport.
These are just some of the grand plans kicking around in the mind of Boroffice. His defense to charges of misplaced priorities -- wasting money on space technology when Nigeria faces so many other pressing problems -- is as disarming as it is forward-thinking: Space is one of the smartest micro-investments a developing nation can make, he said.
Boroffice, a former biology teacher who will address the PopTech conference Friday in Camden, Maine, must at times contend with the accusation that he is overseeing a gross mistake. (Wired News is covering the PopTech conference on the Underwire blog.)
Africa's most populous country, Nigeria is saddled with a sub-Saharan developing nation's standard-issue burdens: disease, poverty, corruption and malnutrition.
Boroffice thinks space technology is the key to addressing such woes relatively cheaply and efficiently. For example, NASRDA spent $13 million, less than 0.1 percent of the nation's budget, in the 2003 launch of NigeriaSat-1, an advanced imaging satellite that punches its weight with 1990s satellites in the $300 million class. NigeriaSat-1 -- the first satellite to provide close-up images of the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina -- helped sow the seeds of technological development in a nation that needs engineers, infrastructure and IT.
Today, Nigeria imports food for its booming population while Nigerian farmers' yields depend on seasonal variations in things like water availability and soil fertility. NigeriaSat-1 beams up-to-date agricultural data back to NASRDA mission control in Abuja every day, and Nigeria's space support program helps farmers make use of the information to make smart decisions, said Boroffice.
"There are seminars and workshops to teach farmers how to read (NigeriaSat-1) maps and how to identify areas where they can plant rice, when to plant and when to harvest and also to provide a system for monitoring the health of the rice (crop)," Boroffice said.
The challenge for NASRDA now, said Martin Sweeting of Surrey Satellite Technology, which built NigeriaSat-1, is reaching the point of self-sufficiency so Nigerian engineers can build, launch and operate satellites from within the country's borders.
Surrey Satellite, which also designed and built the successful imaging satellite's successor -- NigeriaSat-2, which is set to launch next year -- is training some of Boroffice's top science staff.
With the successful launch earlier this year of Nigeria's first communications satellite, NigComSat-1, Boroffice wants to expand both the role of space technology in the country and the economic viability of NASRDA.
Telemedicine is now possible, Boroffice said, thanks to Nigeria's new bird in the sky.
"Most of our doctors don't want to go to rural areas," he said. "So we have created primary health-care centers, and we link them to two teaching hospitals. And these two hospitals, with videoconferencing, can provide high-quality medicine to these remote (areas)."
Boroffice also pines for the day when a Nigerian spaceport is inaugurated, enabling local launch of NASRDA spacecraft. (Previous craft have launched from Russia and China.) Nigeria's proximity to the equator means it has a natural aerospace resource many nations might want to buy into.
"(Nigeria has) a location that's ideal for launching satellites into geostationary and polar orbits," Sweeting said. "This is something that they could clearly exploit at any time."
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Russia determined to expand space cooperation with Nigeria CAIRO. June 24 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia is planning to sign an all- round cooperation agreement with the Nigerian space agency during the visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Nigeria on Wednesday. "We will form the regulatory groundwork and start working after that. We have prepared for signing a comprehensive memorandum between the space agencies of Russia and Nigeria," head of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) Anatoly Perminov told the press in Cairo on Wednesday. The memorandum implies cooperation in seven directions, including telecommunications, land remote sensing, navigation and geological prospecting, he said. Perminov did not rule out the possibility that in the future Russia and Nigeria will cooperate "on projects in the sphere of human flights and GLONASS."
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Friday, July 03, 2009 Updated at 03 July 2009 0:25 Moscow Time. The Moscow Times » Issue 4174 » Business
Dmitry Astakhov / RIA-Novosti Medvedev listening to a guide's explanations while touring the pyramids in Giza, Egypt, before his flight to Abuja.�� Space and Gas Deals Planned in Nigeria 25 June 2009 By Maria Antonova / The Moscow Times Members of President Dmitry Medvedev's entourage said Wednesday that he would oversee the signing of major gas and nuclear deals, as well as a sweeping agreement on space cooperation during his visit to Nigeria.
Medvedev left Egypt on Wednesday afternoon for Nigeria, the second destination on his four-country African tour aiming to establish a bigger business presence in the resource-rich continent.
Federal Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov said the expected agreement with Nigeria covered space cooperation in seven areas, including telecoms, navigation and geological research.
"Everything but sending up pilots," he said, RIA-Novosti reported.
He said Egypt had agreed to cooperate on Glonass, Russia's struggling answer to the U.S.-led GPS satellite system, and that the document would be signed soon.
Perminov also said Russia was launching a satellite for South Africa within a month from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which it leases from Kazakhstan. Medvedev called Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Wednesday, according to the Kremlin web site, although it was not immediately clear what they discussed.
A telecoms satellite is also ready to launch for Angola, Perminov said. "We hope to resolve all the financial aspects of this project on this visit," he added. The delegation will go to Angola on Friday.
Medvedev and his delegation of officials and businessmen landed in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on Wednesday evening for the first-ever visit there by a Russian president.
Sergei Prikhodko, Medvedev's top foreign policy aide, told reporters that Gazprom and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation would sign a record gas deal, with the Russian company investing up to $2.5 billion into a Nigerian joint venture. The companies will have equal stakes in the venture, which will engage in research, extraction and transporting gas, he said.
Gazprom had previously discussed the possibility of participating in the construction of a pipeline across the Sahara Desert, as well as pipeline infrastructure in Nigeria. The trans-Sahara link would connect Nigeria with Algeria's export system, making it possible to send Nigerian gas to Europe.
Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko said he also expected a series of nuclear energy cooperation agreements in Nigeria, including Russia's possible participation in construction of a nuclear power plant and uranium exploration.
"It's a chance for us to stake out a claim for the territory," he said, regarding uranium exploration on lands that have not yet been explored, Interfax reported.
Medvedev is scheduled to visit Namibia and Angola next, the first time a Russian leader will have traveled to either country. The Russian delegation includes Natural Resources and Environment Minister Yury Trutnev, Federal Fisheries Agency head Andrei Krainy, Vneshekonombank chief Vladimir Dmitriyev and executives from major companies including Alrosa, Gazprom Neft and Intourist.
Russia is especially well-positioned to "cooperate with Namibia in sectors related to energy" and is interested in projects on hydro, heat and nuclear power as well as Namibia's mining industry, Prikhodko said.
Alrosa, VEB, Sintezneftegaz, Technopromexport, Stroitransgaz and units of Gazprom are interested in increasing their business in Namibia, Prikhodko said.
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