Kenya's Space
Missions

1964–1988

Launch & Tracking

San Marco Programme

Italian-Kenyan space programme launching 5 satellites from the Malindi sea platform. Made Kenya the site of the first non-superpower orbital launch. Established Africa's premier space facility.

1975–Present

Satellite Tracking

ESA Ground Station Operations

Continuous support for European Space Agency missions from the Broglio Space Centre. The station tracks ESA's Galileo, Copernicus, and science missions, providing critical coverage from the equatorial region.

2018

Technology Demo

1KUNS-PF Mission

Kenya's first satellite, deployed from the International Space Station. A 1U CubeSat built by the University of Nairobi with JAXA and University of Rome support. Demonstrated Earth imaging and data downlink capabilities.

2018–Present

Earth Observation

SERVIR East Africa

NASA-USAID-KSA partnership using satellite data for environmental decision-making. Provides flood forecasts, crop assessments, and land cover monitoring across East Africa.

2023–Present

Earth Observation

Taifa-1 Mission

Kenya's operational Earth observation satellite, monitoring agriculture, forestry, and environmental changes. Provides 5-metre multispectral imagery across Kenya from a sun-synchronous orbit.

2023–Present

Data Partnership

Copernicus Data Access

Access to ESA's Copernicus Sentinel satellite constellation data, providing Kenya with free, open satellite imagery for environmental monitoring and disaster response.

2026–2028

Satellite Build

KenyaSat-3 Development

Kenya's first fully indigenous satellite design, under development at KSA's Space Technology Centre. Enhanced 6U CubeSat with NIR and thermal imaging capabilities.

2028–2032

Multi-Satellite

KenyaSat Constellation

Planned constellation of 4 microsatellites providing daily revisit coverage of East Africa. Will include SAR capability for all-weather, day/night observation.