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Nigeria’s satellite has expired, it’s still working based on ‘Grace’ – DG of National Space Agency

Director-General of The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Dr. Halilu Shaba, has revealed that Nigeria’s satellite which was last licensed in 2011, has expired.

He disclosed this while featuring on a Channels Television program, saying that it was now functioning based on ‘Grace’.

Shaba stated that the satellite which is used for security purposes and brings in money for the country has a 7-year lifespan and a new one ought to have been built.

“The satellite we’re using expired in 2018 and is still giving us necessary data based on ‘Grace’.

It’s a story one cannot tell because so many things are competing for the same resources in the country,” he said.

The National Space Research and Development Agency (NSRDA) has said that inadequate satellite and other facilities affect the agency’s capability to trace bandits and other criminal elements operating in the country.

Director-General of NSRDA, Halilu Shaba disclosed this to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, after an interactive meeting with staff of the agency in Abuja.

Shaba said the bandits have become sophisticated in their operations and waves received by the agency from remote areas shows the bandits no longer use Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) phones, but walkie-talkie.

The Satellite is not static where the insurgency is taking place. That is why one satellite is not adequate. What Nigeria has there are some two satellites doing two different things.

We have a High-Resolution imaging satellite and Medium Resolution imaging satellite. The activities of the bandits could be when the satellite was away from Nigerian borders, so that is why we are advocating for more satellites for Nigeria,” he said.

Shaba, therefore, called for collaboration between the agency and security agencies in the country in the area of information sharing, especially when planning to launch attacks on the criminal elements.