Ethiopia has launched its second remote-sensing satellite into space, the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute has announced on Tuesday.
Named ET-SMART-RSS, the second earth observation nano-satellite was designed by Ethiopian engineers in collaboration with China’s Smart Satellite Technology Corporation under an initiative co-funded by both Ethiopia and China.
The institute on its face book page said “the second Ethiopian Remote Sensing Satellite successfully launched” but did not mention when and where the satellite was launched.
Director-General of the institute Dr. Solomon Belay last month was quoted as saying that Ethiopia’s second satellite will be launched on December 20, 2020, from China’s Taiyuan Spacecraft Launch Site.
The satellite has improved resolution features that would enable it to capture and send high-quality images to its command centre in Addis Ababa, according to Dr Solomon.
“The major mission of the second satellite is on flood and disaster prediction,” he said, adding that “agriculture and environment are also its secondary missions.”
Ethiopia launched its first satellite into space in December last year in a bid to develop space programs and encourage scientific innovation.
