Let us recollect that on October 4, 1957, the world as we knew it then, changed. Since that time, the world has charted and continues to follow a path, significantly influenced by space exploration and utilization. That was the day when the Space Age was born. That was the day when the then Soviet Union successfully launched the first man-made satellite, Sputnik-1, into space. And that was the day mankind achieved a significant milestone in its on-going response to Socrates challenge that:

Man must rise above the Earth, to the top of the atmosphere and beyond, for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.[1]

Today, the space enterprise (space exploration and utilization) is a total global engagement that is changing, daily, the way we live, interact and even foresee the future. We all can attest to how the Space Age has enriched our views of the natural world and how it has given all of us a perspective that we now take for granted. We all know too well also that the preservation of our fundamental life support systems – air, land, water, agricultural resources and wholesome environment – is being endangered by anthropogenic and human detrimental impact on the Earth’s environment. The global community, of which Africa is a part, has become dependent on space-derived services[2] for a greater understanding and management of these systems and other essential human needs. It would be calamitous for our growth and development if these services were no longer there on demand or when needed.

Africa can count on the continuity of these and more enhanced services in the future as long as it is prepared to pay for them while the providers would continue to reap handsome returns for their investments. However, Africa cannot remain the beneficiary of the efforts of others forever. What should be our concern now is the possibility that for political or strategic reasons or for reasons of exigency, the same space-derived services Africa and Africans depend upon today, at cost, are turned off and are no longer available for purchase at any price. Certainly, no sane entity would contemplate taking such a drastic step if Africa could independently develop, build, deploy and maintain the necessary infrastructure that could provide comparable services. This and other factors constitute the compelling reasons why Africa’s space aspirations should become a reality without any further delay.

[1] Plato's Dialogue, Phaedo, around 109e (Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 1 translated by Harold North Fowler; Introduction by W.R.M. Lamb. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1966.)

[2] Space-derived services include, inter-alia, Communication services, disaster management, search and rescue operations, land, air and sea navigation services, tele-education, tele-health, meteorological services, ocean and coastal monitoring, Earth observation services needed for mapping, agriculture, forestry, land resources, environmental management, urban planning, infrastructure development, mitigation of the impact of space debris and asteroids.