The Kenya Space Agency has announced the launch of a climate-monitoring device to be sent to the International Space Station, which is expected to improve climate and weather monitoring across Eastern Africa.
In a notice dated April 3, the Kenya Space Agency (KSA) said the Climate Camera (ClimCam) will be sent to space on April 8, aboard the Cygnus NG‑24 mission.
The launch is scheduled for 3:51 pm Kenya time (EAT) and will use a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Once it reaches the International Space Station, ClimCam will be installed on the Airbus Bartolomeo platform, attached to the station’s European laboratory. From there, it will collect climate and weather information from space and send it back to Earth in near real time.
According to the Kenya Space Agency, the project was developed through a partnership among the Kenya Space Agency, the Egyptian Space Agency, and the Uganda National Space Program, following the three countries’ successful applications under an international space capacity‑building program.
“The ClimCam payload is designed to deliver AI‑powered, near-real-time weather and climate data to support disaster management, natural resources management, and climate resilience in Eastern Africa,” the notice said.
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Kenya Space Agency Climate Payload Cleared After Testing in Cairo and Houston
It was assembled and tested at the facilities of the Egyptian Space Agency in Cairo, before undergoing final checks and validation at Airbus facilities in Houston, Texas.
“The payload underwent assembly, integration, and testing at the Egyptian Space Agency facilities in Cairo, completed end-to-end validation at Airbus facilities in Houston, Texas, and has been cleared for spaceflight,” stated KSA.
According to the authority, the data collected by the camera will help close climate information gaps by providing governments, scientists, and emergency responders with faster, more reliable data.
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Backed by the UN‑led space access program
Kenya Space noted that the project is part of an effort to help developing countries access space technology. ClimCam was developed under a program run by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) in partnership with Airbus Defense and Space.
KSA added that the initiative falls under the UN’s “Access to Space for All” program, which supports countries in using space‑based tools to advance development goals such as environmental protection, climate planning, and disaster preparedness.
The launch will be broadcast live by SpaceX via the Cygnus NG‑24 livestream:
https://spacex.com/launches/ng24
Once deployed, ClimCam is expected to provide Kenya and its regional partners with better space-based tools to plan for climate change, prepare for extreme weather, and manage environmental risks.
