Payette encourages Nigeria on communications satellite

Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada and world renowned astronaut, said Nigeria must continue to operate her own communications and Remote Sensing satellites to be able to share relevant data that can help solve some intricate problems.

Payette gave the advice at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), in Abuja, recently, during her state visit to Nigeria and proposed the operation of both Communication and remote sensing satellite in Nigeria to enable the country gather data and share information about any natural disaster that may occur in the country with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problem.

According to the Canadian astronaut, the operation of such satellites allows for an opening for collaboration where the needs of Nigeria can be placed where all other communities working together would assist her in tackling her challenges.

She said, “Having a communication satellite and remote sensing capabilities in Nigeria opens doors to a lot of collaborations.

If there is a remote sensing demand on ground because of the flood or natural disaster, every nation that has remote sensing satellite will provide data, whoever has satellite at the time will now provide the data so that the authorities will use that data to tackle the disaster? Nigeria is in that group.

She said that although there are lots of works on ground, but having the proper data from space has the capability of providing solutions to problems.

“One of the most important things is that when you have a project like that, it inspires the young generation to study science and technology and eventually become engineers and professionals.”