Senegal has successfully launched its first satellite, GAINDESAT-1A, into orbit, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced late Friday.
The satellite was launched on Friday at 18:56 GMT from California’s Vandenberg base, Faye said in an X post.
“The result of five years of hard work by our engineers and technicians, this advance marks a major step towards our technological sovereignty,” President Faye wrote.
“I would like to express my pride and gratitude to all those who made this project possible,” he added.
According to Senegal’s public broadcaster, RTS, the GAINDESAT-1A was developed by Senegalese engineers in collaboration with the French Montpellier University Space Centre (CSUM).
The satellite launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, will gather vital data for Senegalese state agencies, including the Directorate for Water Resources Management and Planning and the National Civil Aviation and Meteorology Agency.
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