Jeremy Binnie, London – IHS Jane’s Defence WeeklyEthiopia’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) is working on a space rocket that it hopes will be operational in the next three years, the official Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) cited ministry spokesman Wondwosen Andualem as saying on 31 December.
“Efforts are ongoing to launch into space a medium-sized rocket within the coming three years,” Wondwosen said.
The ENA cited him as saying that Ethiopia is developing the ability to produce satellites for security, weather forecasting, and other purposes with the help of unidentified “development partners”, as well as the rockets needed to launch them into orbit.
It was announced in October 2016 that the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI) had been established to facilitate the development of the country’s space and aerospace sector.