Invest in space science to reduce call rate – Expert tells government

Ghanaians are likely to pay less for call rate when the country is able to develop its own space satellite.

Earnest Teye Martey, who is part of the trio that released into orbit Ghana’s first satellite, believes that a good investment into space science will see a lot of returns since most of the “phone calls we make route through satellite.”

Ghana successfully launched its first satellite dubbed “Ghansat -1” into the international space station last Friday July 7, 2017; this makes the country the first in sub-Saharan Africa to launch academic satellite into space paving way for the country to explore the full benefit of satellite technology.

The satellite built by Engineering students of the All Nations University College in Koforidua in the Eastern Region means Ghana has low and high resolution cameras onboard capable of taking pictures of Ghana and provide data on happenings on Ghana’s coastal areas and the environment.

It also has an educational mission which can be used to educate young engineers on how to develop satellites.

Speaking in an interview on the Gold Power Drive Monday, Mr. Martey urged government to support the sector in order for the country to realize its own satellite.

He said: “if Ghana invests in space science, call rate will be reduced. For now I know that some governmental agencies which employ satellite data do buy data from outside at a very huge cost. If we should develop on our own the cost will be reduced.”

“Countries like Japan, Russia and the USA have a national budget which is dedicated to space science but we are yet to see that in Ghana. We hope that it will change and when it does we are going to increase the height of technology,” he added.