Kenya Will Launch The Taifa-1 Satellite

 

Kenya has taken interest in space exploration and its commercial possibilities. Kenya's first satellite is called the Taifa-1. Kenya is not the only country launching satellites. A total of 13 African countries have produced up to 48 satellites. The space program has highlighted the ability of Kenyan engineers. This observation satellite will provide valuable information related agriculture and monitoring food security. Kenya has recently struggled with drought and is looking for new methods to combat its effects. Observation satellites can show where drought and desertification is causing the most damage. Using that data can help allocate resources to various regions. Taifa-1 is not just technology for solving problems. It represents Africa's technological rise. The year 2018 was another milestone related to Kenya's space program. Kenya launched a nanosatellite from the International Space Station. Other African countries have been active in satellite production. Ethiopia, South Africa, Sudan, and Angola have space programs. Over the next few decades Africa could be seeing more observation satellites launched.  

Jocelyn Bell Burnell Awarded The Copley Medal

 

Jocelyn Bell Burnell won the Copley Medal. This is the oldest scientific award still in existence. She was instrumental in the discovery of pulsars. Pulsars are a type of star that rotates and emits high amounts of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation comes out of the magnetic poles. They are spherical in shape and have mass that exceeds that of the sun. Pulsars were only discovered in 1967 and changed what scientists knew about outer space. Space is a strange environment of black holes, planets, stars, comets, asteroids, and dark matter. Pulsars are just another strange object that astronomers and astrophysicists examine. Classified as a neutron star its rapid spinning from a far away distance makes it look like a blinking  of lights. Burnell did not get a Nobel Prize in 1974, but instead it went to her PhD supervisor. She was a graduate student that contributed to a major discovery and would not get recognition until decades later. Jocelyn Bell Burnell continues to study various binary starts and has assisted in the construction of radio telescopes. Later She served as president of  the Institute of Physics. Being the first to identify pulsars was an important  advancement in the field of astrophysics.