From launching sounding rockets in the 1960s to tracking SpaceX missions today, the Broglio Space Centre in Malindi has been Africa's gateway to space for six decades.
Origins
The San Marco Project began in 1964 as a collaboration between Kenya and Italy. Professor Luigi Broglio selected the Formosa Bay site near Malindi for its proximity to the equator, an ideal location for launching satellites into equatorial orbits with minimal fuel expenditure.
The site was developed with two sea-based launch platforms: San Marco (for launches) and Santa Rita (for control operations), positioned approximately 5 km off the Kenyan coast in the Indian Ocean.
The Launch Era
Between 1967 and 1988, over 20 sounding rockets and 9 satellites were launched from the San Marco and Santa Rita platforms. The facility became the only non-American, non-Soviet launch site to successfully place satellites in orbit during the Space Race era.
Notable launches include San Marco 2 (1967), the first Italian satellite launched from outside the United States, and San Marco 5 (1988), which carried instruments to study the equatorial atmosphere.
Modern Tracking
Today, the renamed Broglio Space Centre serves as a Tracking, Telemetry and Command (TT&C) station providing services to NASA, SpaceX, ESA, CNES, and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The facility tracks satellites in low Earth orbit and geostationary orbit.
The Future
Under KSA's strategic plan, Malindi is being upgraded with modern ground station equipment to support Kenya's growing satellite constellation and to serve as a regional hub for space data processing and distribution.
Written by
KSA Heritage
Historical Research
