Morocco, after the launch of its first high-resolution satellite in 2017 is set to launch a second one by the end of 2018.
The move which is aimed at enhancing the country’s defense capability by monitoring activities on its borders will cost €500 million.
According to Al Massae, a Morrocan paper, the satellite will be ready to be launched in November, and this will make Morocco the third African country to acquire two satellites, after Egypt and South Africa.
Like the first satellite, the second will be launched from the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana.
The project, forms part of an agreement between France and Morocco signed in 2013 during the visit of former French President Francois Hollande to Morocco.
The satellite’s uses
The first high-resolution satellite, which weighs over 1,100 kilograms, was used successfully to detect illegal activities from the Polisario Front east of Morocco’s defense wall earlier this year.
To prove Polisario’s illegal maneuvers, Morocco used satellite images that showed Polisario in the region.
The satellite, which is capable of capturing more than 500 images daily, updates its data every six hours.
It was launched to help Morocco’s security agencies fight smuggling and arrest potential terrorists in the Sahel region.
It was also launched to help control undocumented migration.
However, Morocco’s Ministry of Interior has not yet unveiled any information about the second satellite.
By:StephanieHorsu/techvoiceafrica.com
