Space Situational Awareness Theory Why Africa Needs Its Own Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Capability When Space Objects Arrived Uninvited On the morning of 30 December 2024, residents of Mukuku village in Makueni County, Kenya woke to find a large metal object that had fallen from the sky. A partially burnt metallic fragment descended at approximately 3:00 pm local time, and the loud bang
Space Situational Awareness Theory Space Situational Awareness (SSA): From Science to Instrumentation What Is Space Situational Awareness? Space Situational Awareness, commonly referred to as SSA, is the continuous knowledge and understanding of the space environment. It covers the detection, tracking, and characterisation of artificial orbital objects, natural bodies, and environmental conditions that affect the safety and sustainability of space operations. SSA is
Space Situational Awareness Theory Featured Why Space Weather Matters for Africa Geography Matters in Space Weather. Here Is Why Space weather is a fascinating phenomenon. But what makes it particularly compelling, and particularly important, is that it does not affect every place on Earth the same way. Where you are on the planet determines what you experience when the Sun is
Impacts of Space Weather Events on Earth Technologies Solar Flare Effects on High Frequency (HF) Radio Communication What is HF radio communication? HF radio communication refers to communication that operates in the frequency range of 3 to 30 MHz of the radio frequency spectrum and remains one of the most widely used communication technologies on Earth. It is the link for aircraft crossing oceans, the safety channel
Impacts of Space Weather Events on Earth Technologies What Current Space Weather Conditions Mean for the Artemis II Mission Crew The world watched the launch. April 1, 2026. Four astronauts (Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen) lifted off from Kennedy Space Center aboard the Orion spacecraft on a 10-day mission around the Moon. First crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since 1972. This is historic by
Key Players of Space Weather Solar Flares Explained Not all disasters begin on Earth. The Sun has a temper. When it flares, the Earth feels it. One minute everything is fine. Then, in a flash lasting mere minutes, the Sun releases more energy than a billion nuclear bombs. We call it a solar flare. What is a Solar
Key Players of Space Weather Sunspots Explained Have you come across a real telescopic image of the Sun, and noticed dark patches scattered across its surface? If you have, you were looking at sunspots. And before you ask, no, the Sun is not bruised. Not spotty either. Well, actually, a little spotty. What exactly are sunspots? Sunspots
Space Situational Awareness Theory What is Space Weather and Why Should You Care? It has nothing to do with rain or sunshine, but it can disrupt your GPS, interfere with your radio communications, and degrade the satellite-dependent technologies you rely on every day. Wait — Weather in Space? When most people hear "space weather," they picture rain, sunshine, or temperature. Completely
