Loss Of Nigerian Communication Satellite Matters Arising
Nigerian satellite 'lost' “When Nigeria launched the NigComSat-1 into space it was hailed as the country first steps into the space age. The $340m satellite built by the Chinese firm the Great Wall Industry Corporation was launched in Sichuan province in May 2007 and it launch was watched proudly by a delegation from Nigeria including the then Minister of Science and Technology, Professor Turner Isoun. Fast forward to November 2008 and the promises of jobs and development in telecommunications to be brought about from the deployment of the satellite seem to have temporarily gone down a black hole. The drama started off with reports earlier this week that suggested that communication with the satellite was completely lost and fears arose that it might have spun out of its orbit. However by Wednesday a Nigerian government official attributed the problem to a loss of power. Speaking in Abuja the Nigerian capital the Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Alhassan Zaku des