Zambia on course to launch satellite in 2023

LUSAKA, Zambia

Zambia on Friday said it is on course to launch a satellite in 2023.

In a statement, Science and Technology Minister Felix Mutati said moving from analog technology to digital technology will enhance digital economic activities and help the government plan ahead in meeting challenges such as climate change, flooding, and health issues.

After touring the Mwembeshi satellite earth station at the country’s National Remote Sensing Center, Mutati said the country’s sole satellite at Mwembeshi, west of the capital Lusaka, was launched in 1974. The minister said the country has adequate expertise to attain the goal.

Mutati took office last September after the new government won August’s general election. A month later, he announced that he had set a 100-day plan in motion for the Southern African nation to set its digital development agenda.

Mutati added that the project would raise the country to one of the leading technology data solution-based countries in Southern Africa.