Nigeria Seeks Out The Final Frontier

Of all the nations with an excuse not to invest in the final frontier, Nigeria would be it. Infested with numerous problems ranging from disease to corruption, Nigeria has every excuse to refrain from embracing the cosmos above as apart of its inheritance.

But despite being a prime example of a third world nation, Africa's largest country (population wise) is looking towards the heavens to solve its problems below.

(Wired.com) 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. [...]

"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.

Boroffice heads the National Space Research and Development Agency, or NASRDA which is Nigeria's space agency. Although the nation has a long ways to go before catching up with their western (or eastern) friends, Nigeria is seeking the ability to operate and launch its own satellites within its own borders.

What makes Nigeria really interesting is its position near the equator, which would make it a prime location for launching space ships or satellites into geostationary orbit.

If Nigeria ever decided to lease its space to western nations, Nigeria could build up the funds to eventually launch one of their own beyond the sky and into the black.



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