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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Chinese built Nigerian satellite fails in space |
| 2008-11-16 |
| A multi-million dollar Nigerian satellite launched in May 2007 has been shut down to prevent it spinning out of control and damaging others in orbit. Chinese-built NigComSat-1 cost the African oil producer $340m (£228m). NigComSat-1 was launched 18 months ago to much fanfare from the government, but it has been mired in controversy ever since. The Nigerian government said insurance would pay for a replacement and Nigerians should still be proud of the country's satellite programme. But telecoms experts told the BBC it was a "white elephant in space" and the whole operation was a "debacle". On Tuesday, controllers shut the satellite down because it was having problems with its power supply, the government announced. The satellite was meant to provide communications for government agencies and broadband internet. "This has been a real debacle from day one," a telecoms engineer told the BBC. The engineer, who works as a consultant for a multinational communications company, did not want to be named. The satellite was limited because the type of frequency it used was disturbed by clouds in the atmosphere, and did not work properly in Nigeria's rainy season or during the Harmattan, when clouds of dust blow down from the Sahara, he said. The satellite also operated on frequencies already allocated to other companies and interfered with other providers' equipment. But Information Minister John Odey denied the satellite was not worth investing in. "No technology can be a waste of money," he said. "It is a worthy investment, and Nigerians should see it as desirable. It has served a purpose and will continue to do so." Local media initially reported that the satellite had "gone missing". But on Wednesday Minister of State for Science and Technology Alhassan Zaku told journalists it had lost power and had to be "parked, like you would park a car". "If it wasn't parked and it lost all its power there would be no energy to even move it and it would be like a loose cannon and would keep rolling about and hit other satellites in the orbit," he told reporters. According to analysts, Nigeria has made nearly $2 trillion in oil revenues over the last 30 years, but its population are mostly poor. Africa's most populous nation lacks basic infrastructure like power and water, and many Nigerians thought the satellite showed the government did not have its priorities right. The news that the satellite could not get enough power to run has led to jokes that, as one e-mail doing the rounds put it: Nigeria has "exported its electricity generation problems to space". |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #9 NigComSat-1@whitehouse.gov failure notice 53.162.169.120 does not like recipient. I guess we're not the only ones. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-11-16 15:00 |
| #8 "No technology can be a waste of money," Wow, I better get on the horn to them and fill them in on my automatic electroflangular gonkulation apparatus. It could change the world! |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2008-11-16 14:50 |
| #7 Will this decrease the amount of spam I get from Nigeria? If not, why not? |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-11-16 14:18 |
| #6 How about using your vaunted technology to get your economy moving? Your citizens are dying while you screw around. It's not their technology. They sent the three hundred million dollars to China for this thing. And apparently got yentzed. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2008-11-16 13:01 |
| #5 NigComSat-1 You're joking, Right? |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-11-16 12:21 |
| #4 Dear Friend; Blessings. I am Minister of State for Science and Technology Alhassan Zaku... |
| Posted by: Milton Fandango 2008-11-16 11:51 |
| #3 I find the satellite name offensive. Ima gonna sue |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-11-16 11:31 |
| #2 white elephant in space... "type" of frequency... operated on frequencies already allocated... "no technology can be a waste of money"... These people are blithering idiots all. Then we have noted technologist Alhassan Zaku: "parked, like you would park a car"... "it would be like a loose cannon and would keep rolling about and hit other satellites in the orbit"... How about using your vaunted technology to get your economy moving? Your citizens are dying while you screw around. |
| Posted by: KBK 2008-11-16 09:36 |
| #1 Not just children toys. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-11-16 08:55 |