African Space Agency

[darthgently]

https://spacenews.com/african-space-agencies-have-the-potential-to-lead-the-global-space-race/

[GGG-GoodGuyGreg]

The African Space Program has been in the works for some time now… starts at 6:15

 

[insert_name]

I cant take that article seriously, I have yet to see enough capital, skilled workers, or political will to get a functioning space program,  at best we will see some scientific payloads and small satelites, but there just isnt the kind of manufacturing base for large spacecraft or mass produced spacecraft.

[kerbiloid]

The first attempt was in 1960s.

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/zambian-space-programme

Why not.

[tater]

That article is comical. The "potential to lead" LOL.

The potential to participate, eventually? Sure. Lead? They'd only need to... start from scratch. The US leads "the global space race" in terms of resources spent. China is up there for sure. Everyone else is noise and not moving the dial. I don't see Africa leapfrogging China, then the US.

[steve9728]

Unlike elsewhere, in many parts of Africa the choice between "feeding poor children or developing expensive rocket science" is often no more important than ensuring peace and stability in the country. I always thought that Gabon and Somalia were the best places to launch rockets, but I think we all know what Somalia is like.

52 minutes ago, tater said:

China is up there for sure.

 

 

Edited May 3, 2023 by steve9728

[tater]

Point being that the US spends more than the rest of the world (possibly combined I think), so Africa "leading" the space race would require accomplishing more than that. The article is disconnected from reality—maybe the author's research consisted of watching Black Panther?

[kerbiloid]

6 minutes ago, tater said:

Point being that the US spends more than the rest of the world (possibly combined I think), so Africa "leading" the space race would require accomplishing more than that. The article is disconnected from reality—maybe the author's research consisted of watching Black Panther?

Let me illuminate you a little.

Spoiler

 

 

[Hannu2]

If African countries would try with traditional high risk exploration methods I am sure that they would achieve a lead with very much smaller investments than USA or EU. Chinese has also adapted a western attitude in which failure is official shame to the state and funders and can not get real achievements in manned operations. 

But I do not think it is very realistic.  Space operations can not be economically profitable or support political power of any government in several decades or even centuries and African countries have more acute problems to solve than technopropaganda.

[kerbiloid]

Zaire already had a chance, too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OTRAG_(rocket)

 

7 hours ago, tater said:

I don't see Africa leapfrogging China, then the US.

Africa.

Spoiler

You never know what's planned...

[DDE]

Quote

African nations have the potential to become leading competitors in the space industry due to the continent’s rapidly expanding space industry, the amount of institutional knowledge already available, and its large youth population poised to become the next generation of space innovators. 

The demographic remark is equally entirely theoretical. They're not exactly at a time and place economically to end up in decent tech colleges.

[darthgently]

While the headline is typical controversial click bait, I posted the article because Africa's equatorial acreage is vast and as the article states they are counting other nations' space activity in Africa as part of the industry.  The PRC plans to put an equatorial launch site in Djibouti is a good example.   

Since there was no topic here for African space activity I figured I'd open one and throw the link in.

Hey, ya never know

[tater]

As geography goes, that aspect makes some sense—though then all the bits need to be shipped there.

[kerbiloid]

4 hours ago, tater said:

As geography goes, that aspect makes some sense—though then all the bits need to be shipped there.

Africa is New South America.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guiana_Space_Centre

[DDE]

8 hours ago, tater said:

As geography goes, that aspect makes some sense—though then all the bits need to be shipped there.

...and shipping becomes non-trivial once you realize Africa only has one eastern coast, and any rival facility would likely have to be quite far inland.

[kerbiloid]

2 hours ago, DDE said:

...and shipping becomes non-trivial once you realize Africa only has one eastern coast, and any rival facility would likely have to be quite far inland.

"Andromeda Nebula" clearly says that the far-future Earth spaceport is placed in Hammada Al Hamra.

So, this would be started from somewhere.

[darthgently]

2 hours ago, DDE said:

...and shipping becomes non-trivial once you realize Africa only has one eastern coast, and any rival facility would likely have to be quite far inland.

A big factor not being considered much is that as reusability blossoms west coast landing sites for second stages become desirable as incoming are over the water.   Landed stages could be shipped westward to the launch sites on the next east coast to the west.  All assuming a majority of prograde equatorial orbit launches are happening

[DDE]

14 hours ago, darthgently said:

All assuming a majority of prograde equatorial orbit launches are happening

Well, if you're willing to go retrograde, you're probably not as stuck on the equator either.

[kerbiloid]

If build a spiral launch flyover from Africa (parallel to the equator) to South Pole (perpendicular to the equator), it would be a Panspherical Magnetic Launch Geoestacade providing full spectrum of orbit inclinations.

Also it can have a twin to the Arctic islands.

Edited May 5, 2023 by kerbiloid

[darthgently]

5 hours ago, DDE said:

Well, if you're willing to go retrograde, you're probably not as stuck on the equator either.

Depends on target inclination, but sure.  The fuel cost, and so payload advantages, of prograde near equatorial launches are hard to beat though.  So for most anything other than special Earth orbits, like lunar and further, prograde near equatorial is the way to go it seems to me