The launch of Uganda’s first satellite PearlAfricaSat-1 happened so suddenly, according to James Onen, The Fatboy Show Presenter on RX Radio.
In a discussion about the first ever launched Ugandan satellite into space from Virginia in the US, James Onen, aka Fatboy, said he was surprised by the events that happened abruptly.
“For me, it just came out of the blue. I just woke up to hear that Uganda launched a satellite. You would think that if such a thing was in the pipeline, there would be a lot of publicity. I never saw anything about this satellite,” he stated.
His co-host Olive Najjuma defended that although there wasn’t much attention on the launch of a satellite, it had been mentioned by the government a few weeks back.
The Satellite PearlAfricaSat-1 was built by three Ugandan engineers, Edgar Mujuni, Bonny Omara, and Derrick Tebuseke. These obtained training under the BIRDS-5 project at Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan in satellite building, design, testing, and launching under the sponsorship of the Ugandan government.
According to the Minister of Science and Technology Monica Musenero, after the three engineers developed the technology, it was transferred to Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for testing before it was confirmed for launch by the NASA team.
However, Fatboy was not convinced about the creation of the satellite by Ugandans. “This is where you understand that there is more beneath the surface to the story. When we say that Uganda has done certain things, sometimes I hesitate to celebrate because it may mean that we were collaborating with another country in terms of technology,” Fatboy reasoned.
Minister Monica Musenero stated that the satellite is to reduce the amounts of money Uganda uses to acquire data using satellites from other states. In addition, it is to help with the analysis of weather and climate change, soil fertility, predict landslides, locusts, armyworms invasion, and drought, and improve telecommunications services, among many others.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, and Sarah every weekday from 6 am to 10 am on RX Radio.