Lead image for Meet Kenyan students who spoke to astronaut aboard ISS 400km up.
The first rockets blasted from San Marco launch platform in Malindi, Kilifi County, nearly six decades ago, placing Kenya among Africa’s earliest participants in the space age.
While other countries went on to build space programmes, Kenya spent decades without any.
Even so, students in Lang’ata became the first Kenyans to speak directly with an astronaut at the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday.
It was the country’s first Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact, an event the Kenya Space Agency (KSA) hopes will inspire greater interest in science and engineering.
The live link connected students with an astronaut orbiting about 400 kilometres above Earth through the ARISS, a global educational initiative coordinated with the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and amateur radio organisations to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) education.
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However, Kenya still faces many challenges as it seeks to establish itself in a sector that demands huge investments, expertise and political commitment.
Kenya Space Agency Director-General, Hillary Kipkosgey, said the country wants to demonstrate that space technology is not limited to astronauts or rocket launches but supports many aspects of daily life.