Guardian

Fourteen years after its establishment on May 5, 1999, the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), stands out as a star performer, among Federal Government parastatals.  However,  NASRDA’s road to success has been rough, especially, budgetarily…

Dr. Seidu Mohammed, the agency’s second Director General spoke with J.K. OBATALA — who recently spent

an afternoon at his home.

MAY is your Anniversary month. How do you assess NASRDA at 14?

Of course, you are aware that a 14-year-old child is still in grade school. So we are still very, very young.

Yet if you compare us with other countries around the world, you’ll see that Nigeria has made its mark. I want to tell you, that a number of publications presented during the 2011 International Astronautics Congress, in South Africa, put Nigeria far ahead of South Africa, in certain areas of space development.

That notwithstanding, Nigerians must remember that we are just starting and that we are not there yet…We still need to move very, very fast!

We need to move rapidly on the synthetic aperture radar satellite project, for instance, which will enable us to see through cloud cover and perform lots of economically and strategically important tasks.

It is also urgent that we establish an Assembly, Integrated Testing and Design Centre to enable our engineers and scientists build satellites…

Nigeria is on the Steering Committee of the African Space Agency? How far along is this project?

We are still working on it. You know, developing policy and a programme. As soon as it is finished, we’ll pass our results to the African Union Commission—who will process it for AMCOST (the African Ministerial Committee On Science and Technology).

If AMCOST is satisfied, they’ll recommend the document to African Heads of State. When, and if, they approve, there’ll be an African Space Agency…

What are the implications for Nigeria?

If African states have a common Space Agency, it means Nigeria must identify an area in which it can specialize. Because there’ll be several manufacturing centres; and you would expect one of them to be here.

We will not just be onlookers—but will play the leadership role.

What has been NASRDA’s main challenge?

Developing a satellite involves so much, both in terms of the design and the necessary capacity. To be involved in various subsystems—avionics, electrical, mechanical, coordination and all these things—requires a high level of competence.

Yet, gaining access to some of this patented knowledge can be difficult. It requires patience and understanding, which we have demonstrated.

We built Sat-2 with SSTL, then had our own engineers design and build Sat-X. This hybrid approach—buy some and build some—was described by the International Astronautics Federation as “a very good model”...

Are you on course to meet the Space Road Map’s time schedule, for achieving domestic launch capability?

We are on course. But lack of funds is a major problem. Not only that, we are also having some problems keeping to our 2015 schedule for training an astronaut—due to a global policy change…

Policy change?...

Yes. The U.S.A. is now using privately-owned rockets to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station (I.S.S.). Because of that, policies in Russia are also changing--and we are depending on Russia’s deep space delivery system to reach the I.S.S.

So we are watching carefully...But still talking, and also looking at other options.

Let’s move to the National Remote Sensing Centre at Jos

A lot is going on there. Remember, two years ago, we completed a nationwide land-use/land- cover map, at a scale of 100,000 to one. We’ve just started another one, at a scale of 1/50,000. It’s a more detailed map.

With this project, we have saved more than N2billion…We’re also working with NEMA, the National Emergency Management Agency, to produce a map pinpointing communities that are vulnerable to flooding…

I hear the Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics, Toro, recently had some problems?

Yes. Lightening struck the radio antenna. But our collaborator, the U.S. Space Agency (NASA), replaced the dish within three days.

Toro is, today, regarded as the most reliable source of data on the African continent.

What kind of data?

They are studying, among other things, the global movement of crustal plates; and NASA is coordinating the research, which is long termed.

Earthquakes are the major concern... We want to understand the characteristics of Earth’s crust and so on.

Has the Nigerian Radio Telescope (N.R.T.) project at the Centre For Basic Space Sciences, Nsukka, been completed?

No. And it’s the same old story—- acute shortage of funds. We have not, for the past one year, paid any money to the Chinese company that is erecting the telescope. Consequently, they are threatening court action.

The Chinese are threatening to take NASRDA to court?

Yes. We have spoken to the Hon. Minister (of Science and Technology); and he has promised to help—to prevent things from going too far. It’s a national obligation…Because N.R.T. is very important, especially since the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project is now taking off in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

This is the biggest astronomy venture in the world, with a projected cost of 1.5 billion Euro. Stations have already been awarded to eight African countries; and Nigeria deserves to be included. Funds need to be provided, to complete our radio telescope, so NASRDA can be part of the global team that is carrying out these studies.

Give us a little more insight, into China’s threat of litigation

The long and short of the matter is that we owe them a lot of money. And we’ve not been having budgetary allocation to offset the debt.

The telescope is crucial. Astronomical research in Africa has always meant three countries: South Africa (number one), Egypt and Nigeria. If we don’t move ahead with N.R.T., we run the risk of losing our position.

I’d also like more detail on the Centre for Satellite Development

It’s very important, strategically. That’s where most of our engineers are--including those who helped to build our satellites with SSTL and will be designing and constructing spacecraft at NASRDA in the future.

Right now, there are over 100 engineers working at the Centre…They are working on CanSat and PalmSat—one satellite the size of a Coca Cola can and another like your palm.

What would be the function of satellites that size?

Small satellites have very specific applications. You can use them for certain kinds of Earth observation, such as measuring atmospheric pressure, studying the chemistry of various atmospheric strata and that type of thing.

This project is dear to NASRDA, because several university students are involved. We also plan to work with secondary schools, so students will understand early how satellites are built. This should generate a broader interest in science and technology…

This means you will launch more conventional satellites?

Yes. We’ll build and launch more communication and earth observation satellites. There’ll be “NigComSat-2,” “NigComSat-3,” “NigeriaSat-3,” “Sat-4,” etc..

I understand Dr. Tunde Rabiu is heading a new “Space Weather” programme?

Yes. Space weather” is a very important issue, globally. There are lots of research and investment in this area.

The space debris problem is well known. But there are streams of high-speed, electrically charged particles from the Sun which, under certain conditions—-such as after a strong solar flare—can pose serious hazard to orbiting satellites.

Many activities on Earth are also affected by solar flares—-including electric power transmission, oil pipelines and communication.

What is your take on the recent explosion of a meteorite over Russia?

Well, it’s not the first time. It’s happened before. That is why there is a need for Nigeria to have powerful radio telescopes-so we can participate, as a station, in the global effort to monitor space debris, asteroids and comets.

We shouldn’t leave that responsibility to the U.S.A. and Russia alone. We ought, at least, to know where the threats are- even if we cannot, at this time, do anything.

If models are developed, based on our observations, that predict where these incoming objects are likely to land, we can then advise our people accordingly.

Keep in mind that meteorites (solid piece of debris from outer space) frequently land within our borders. It has happened in Bauchi several times as well as in Sokoto. Last year, an object from space also fell in Benue State.

We can’t prevent small, sporadic meteorites from bombarding us...But there are larger objects out there, whose movement and position can and must be monitored continuously.

Because of this, we are planning to establish a powerful “Space Debris Monitoring” desk.

Does this mean you’re going to have a telescope positioned somewhere to monitor space debris?

Yes. Yes. It will be at the Centre for Basic Space Science, Nsukka. That, among other things, is what the N.R.T. will do when it is completed.

By creating a desk for Space Debris Monitoring, we hope to sensitize Nigerian universities to do more—to go into this area and work with us. We want the benefits from some of the specialized areas we’re involved in, to accrue to Nigerian universities. The idea is for lecturers to learn from us and our international collaborators, then use these case studies to teach their students.

Have the orbiting satellites begun to generate revenue?

No. Not yet...A satellite is not like a vehicle—which you just buy today and start using. Sat-2 was launched; and then, for the next eight or nine months, it was undergoing calibration. That phase is over now.

We have signed an agreement with Disaster Monitoring Constellation Imagery International (DMCii), to help us market images and data from NigeriaSat-2 globally. (DMCii is a corporate entity, consisting of seven countries with orbiting SSTL satellites.)

At home here, NASRDA has established Geo Apps Limited, to market Sat-2 and Sat-X images within Nigeria and on the African continent. We have even begun advertising and advising customers to come—because we’re ready.

But our highest priority is domestic projects...We have, over the past four months, been acquiring images all across Nigeria.

Some two weeks ago, we started tasking our satellite—using it to acquire images over Mali.

Over Mali?

Yes, that’s a strategic task, in support of the Nigerian armed forces.

Construction on your planetarium was stalled. Has work resumed?

Yes. In fact, the civil work is coming to an end…The next thing now, is the installation of the electronic components—you know computers, projectors, sound systems and what-have-you.

It’s going to accommodate about 300 people. We are building it to get Nigerians interested in astronomy and space science…to inspire them…Visitors can see stars, planets, galaxies, meteors  and supernova explosions in the night sky, even when it’s raining outside!