GhanaSat-1

Did You Know?

• The satellite cost about US$500,000 to manufacture and launch.
• The satellite communicated with ground stations in Thailand and Taiwan in addition to the Birds-1 countries.

Background

GhanaSat-1, Ghana's first satellite, was built by engineers Benjamin Bonsu, Ernest Matey, and Joseph Quansah at All Nations University. The project was part of the Birds-1 program, a Japan-led initiative for non-spacefaring nations, which also included Mongolia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh. All Nations University, which fully funded the satellite, became the first private university in Africa to achieve an orbital launch.

Design and development

The two-year development, construction, launch, and operation of the Birds-1 satellites engaged three university students from each of the five participating countries. The five 1U CubeSats were identical in design. GhanaSat-1 was cube-shaped, measured 10 cm on each side, and weighed about 1 kg. Power came from solar cells stored in batteries. It carried low- and high-resolution cameras and could receive requested songs from the ground, including Ghana's national anthem. The satellite also measured radiation effects on commercial microprocessors. It was given to JAXA on 9 February 2017 and transferred to NASA on 12 February 2017.

Mission

GhanaSat-1 was released by a Japanese astronaut from the Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer in the Japanese Kibō module of the ISS on 7 July 2017. The satellite orbited Earth at 400 km altitude and 51.64° inclination, completing an orbit every 92.57 minutes at 7.67 km/s. It served as a technology demonstrator and Earth observation satellite, imaging the Ghanaian coastline for cartography. The acting director of Space Systems Technology Laboratory at All Nations University, Richard Damoah, stated the satellite would help train the upcoming generation and monitor illegal mining. It communicated with seven ground stations and was the last Birds-1 satellite to deorbit, on 22 May 2019.