Nigeria plans to send its first cosmonaut into orbit with help of US company
Nigeria, in co-operation with a company from the United States, is going to send its first cosmonaut into space, TASS reports with reference to the African country’s Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology
"Manned space flight is not a random aspiration of our country, but an important task of the Nigerian space programme and the policy approved by the government in 2001," the Vanguard newspaper quoted the minister as saying. “The resumption and implementation of all frozen national programmes is an important part of the agenda of hope implemented by President Bola Tinubu. This corresponds to the long-standing aspirations of our people."
A Nigerian cosmonaut will be sent into orbit in accordance with the memorandum of understanding concluded in Abuja by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology with the US Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA).
According to the politician, a flight is planned either in the period up to December 2024 or in 2025. In 2024, Nigeria is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its space programme.
SERA is a private American company that aims to assist as many countries as possible in launching cosmonauts. It has created a platform for the development, creation, financing and implementation of its own space projects. At first, it is planned to send representatives of six countries into space, whose citizens have never participated in such projects. The launches will be carried out from a site in West Texas in collaboration with Blue Origin, which has developed its own launch vehicles and spacecraft.
