1KUNS-PF (1st Kenyan University NanoSatellite-Precursor Flight) was the first

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

n-owned satellite. The cubesat was developed and assembled by the University of Nairobi for the

Kenya Space Agency The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) is a state corporation mandated to promote, coordinate and regulate space-related activities in the country. It was established in 2017 as the successor to the National Space Secretariat (NSS). History In 1964, K ...

, with technical support provided by Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency. The spacecraft was deployed from the International Space Station after being launched by a SpaceX

Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a Reusable launch system#Partial reusable launch systems, partially reusable, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. The first Falcon 9 launch was on June 4, 2010, an ...

rocket.

Background

The idea to launch a Kenyan-built satellite began in September 2015 with the planning and design of the space module. Financial support was obtained for the project when the University of Nairobi won a competitive grant from the

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is an office of the U.N. Secretariat that promotes and facilitates peaceful international cooperation in outer space. It works to establish or strengthen the legal and regulatory fram ...

(UNOOSA) in 2016. The University of Nairobi was the first institution to benefit from a joint project between the United Nations and

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into o ...

. The satellite was given the acronym 1KUNS-PF, which stands for which First Kenya University Nano Satellite-Precursor Flight. External technical support was provided by Sapienza University along with two Italian companies. The cost of the programme was roughly one million dollars. The satellite orbited above the Earth.

Launch and purpose

On 2 April 2018, the satellite was carried to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

on board the

SpaceX CRS-14 SpaceX CRS-14, also known as SpX-14, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station launched on 2 April 2018. The mission was contracted by NASA and was flown by SpaceX. This mission reused the Falcon 9 first stage ...

mission which launched on a Falcon 9 rocket with help from the National Aeronautic and Space Administration. It was deployed from the space station into orbit from the Kibō module on 11 May 2018. Its signal was successfully received from a ground station in Rome by the students of Sapienza University. Its launch was the third for an African country after

GhanaSat-1 GhanaSat-1 was the first Ghanaian nanosatellite to be launched into space. It was designed and built in two years in conjunction with the Kyushu Institute of Technology Birds-1 program, which has the goal of helping countries build their firs ...

and

Nigeria EduSat-1 Nigeria EduSat-1 was a Nigerian nanosatellite built by the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), created in conjunction with the Japanese Birds-1 program. It was Nigeria's first satellite built by a university. It was launched from th ...

, which went into service in 2017. In addition to 1KUNS-PF two other nano satellites, Ubakusat and Proyecto Irazú were also on board the Falcon-9 rocket to the ISS. All three satellites were deployed into space from the ISS by Japanese astronaut

Norishige Kanai is a Japanese doctor and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA astronaut. He is a lieutenant and Diving Medical Officer in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Medical Service Division, 1st Service School). He served as a crew member on boar ...

. The 1KUNS-PF was a 1 unit cubesat. It was an experimental cubesat, with the main mission being to create awareness to the locals on the benefits of space uses. On board the cubesat, there were camera payloads, which were used to take mapping images of Kenya and other East Africa countries within the vicinity of its orbit. The cubesat was designed to have a lifespan of one year and its operations were within the UN space use mitigation measures. 1KUNS-PF deorbited in June 2020.

References

{{Orbital launches in 2018 Satellites in low Earth orbit CubeSats First artificial satellites of a country Science and technology in Kenya Spacecraft launched in 2018 Student satellites Satellites deployed from the International Space Station 2018 in Kenya