Speaking at the just concluded CSTD Week 2014 in Abuja, Dr Spencer Onuh said Nigeria will only reap the benefits of space technology if the country starts building home grown small satellites.
According to him, satellites can be used as vehicles to develop human capacity in science, engineering and technology.
He said space technology remains the driving force behind most of the developed economies, adding that Nigeria is gradually treading the path to development with its space tech.
“Yes, space technology is an expensive and complex sector with a lot of challenges and we overcome these challenges by strategically embarking on a series of small satellites programs that are relatively cheaper, reduced risk, gradual build of in-house capabilities and still able to have a substantial impact on the general public and other sectors in the nation”, Dr Onuh said.
In a keynote lecture delivered on the first day of the event, the Director of Centre for Atmospheric Research at the Kogi State University Ayingba Prof Babatunde Rabiu said the country has to get it right from the beginning as the instability and inconsistence in space environment could be disastrous.
He listed satellite loss, satellite drag, navigational errors, signal loss, poor performance of satellites and interruption of space based services as some of the resultant effects of instability in space environment.
