Kenya is taking a leaf out of its history books and is reaching again for the stars with a proposal to build a spaceport.
The East African country announced it is looking into the feasibility of a commercial spaceport, reports Africa Business Communities
Kenya hosted space launches until 1980 near Malindi in Formosa Bay at the San Marco Equatorial Range, which is now primarily a satellite-tracking ground station operated jointly by the Kenya Space Authority (KSA) and the Italian Space Agency.
Locations near the Equator are preferred for space launches, providing an ideal slingshot effect for rockets and lower fuel requirements for orbital insertions.
Read more: New horizons
The KSA has now appointed a three-member consortium to assess potential sites, launch infrastructure, market demand, environmental and social impacts, and the project’s economic and financial viability.
UAE-based Salience Consulting will head the consortium and handle the financial, legal, environmental and social work. French space engineering firm SpaceDreamS will lead technical feasibility and systems engineering, while Kenya’s Gauff Consultants Africa will advise on civil and infrastructure engineering.
Read more: Sky high
Two possible sites are being considered for the spaceport, including Kipini, located at the mouth of the Tana River in the Coast province, halfway between Malindi and Lamu.
Structured as a public-private partnership, the project will rely on private capital to fund construction.
It was among 13 national priority project presented to potential investors at an infrastructure conference in Seoul in September.
