Kenya has been selected to host the 2026 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, becoming the only African country chosen for the prestigious global initiative.
The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) in a statement on Friday, January 23, said the program will allow Kenyans to communicate directly with astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) through live amateur radio contact, a rare opportunity typically reserved for a limited number of institutions worldwide.
ARISS is an international education and outreach program that connects students and communities with astronauts in orbit, using amateur radio to promote learning in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), space science, and innovation. Kenya’s selection places it among a small group of countries trusted to host the program’s highly coordinated space-to-ground communication sessions.
According to KSA, Kenya’s inclusion as the sole African host for the 2026 round reflects the country’s growing credibility in space science and its expanding role within Africa’s emerging space ecosystem.
Kenya selected to host ARISS 2026 ISS Program
The hosting window is scheduled to run from July to December 2026, during which Kenyan students, industry professionals, and members of the public will participate in live radio communication sessions with astronauts aboard the ISS.
The agency said the engagements are expected to spark interest in STEM careers and strengthen public participation in space science.
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In preparation, KSA said it will work closely with an assigned Pan-African Citizen Science e-Laboratory (PACS eLab) mentor and Harold Safary, the Agency Liaison, to coordinate technical readiness, outreach, and educational impact ahead of the contact sessions.
“This milestone brings space closer to the Kenyan people and empowers the next generation of explorers, researchers, and innovators,” the agency said, adding that an open call will be issued for institutions and individuals interested in participating in the live ISS communication.
The International Space Station is one of the world’s largest and most complex scientific collaborations, involving 15 countries operating a permanent orbiting laboratory.
Since its first crewed mission in 1998, the ISS has hosted more than 250 astronauts and cosmonauts, supported by mission control centres in Houston and Moscow, as well as payload and support centres in Japan, Canada, Europe, and the United States.
Plans to construct a national spaceport
Kenya’s selection for ARISS comes after KSA in December 2025 announced the commencement of the search for a Space Systems Expert to guide plans for the development of a national spaceport, a move aimed at strengthening Kenya’s long-term launch and space infrastructure capabilities.
If implemented, the proposed facility would become Kenya’s second spaceport after the historic but currently inactive Luigi Broglio Space Centre in Malindi.
The Italian-built facility was used to launch satellites and rockets in the 1990s but now mainly serves as a ground station for satellite tracking and remote sensing.
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Kenya has argued that its equatorial location, favourable weather conditions, and east-facing coastline provide distinct advantages for space launches, including reduced fuel requirements and lower launch costs compared to facilities located at higher latitudes. These advantages also allow easier access to equatorial and low-inclination orbits, improving satellite coverage and revisit times.
The country has already demonstrated growing technical capacity in space technology through the launch of its first Earth observation satellite, Taifa One, in April 2023.
The satellite was designed and developed by Kenyan engineers and manufactured in Bulgaria, but had to be launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California due to the lack of an active launch facility in Africa.
KSA has said that an operational spaceport would allow future satellites to be launched from within the country, significantly reducing costs and strengthening national and regional space capabilities
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