Tunisia is preparing to send its first domestically-built "Challenge 1" satellite to space next March, after successfully completing all initial launch tests, and it will be launched via a Russian spacecraft from the Kazakhstan base.
In 2016, the satellite was just an idea in the minds of Mr. Mohamed Fraikha, the initiator of the project, and the engineer Anis Youssef and his team of young competencies in the Tunisian "Talnat" group companies specialized in the manufacture of software and electronic systems, to turn in 2020 into a tangible reality and a unique achievement not only in Tunisia;
But in the Arab world and Africa.
Anis, who today occupies the plan of the renewal manager in the company, does not hide in his speech to Al Jazeera Net his joy and feeling of pride in the company of his colleagues, headed by the director of the complex, Mohamed Fraikha, to manufacture the first local satellite with 100% Tunisian competencies, and to break into Tunisia the space gate that has always been the preserve of certain countries .
The study of the project and the stages of industrialization also contributed to Tunisian expertise in international scientific research centers, whether in the US space agency "NASA" or the European technological pole in Toulouse, France.
Competencies of Tunisian engineers in the Telnat company during the manufacturing process of the satellite (Al-Jazeera)
Launch experiences
The "Challenge 1" satellite, which will be launched at an altitude of 550 km from the surface of the earth, will enable, as our interlocutor Anis says, to present a new approach in the field of information technology, called the "Internet of Things". It will be used in vital fields, such as border control and measuring pollution in Air, climate monitoring, and solar control installations in the heart of the desert, and other places not covered by the internet.
The Internet of Things, known as IoT, is a virtual communication network that exchanges data between the Internet and various physical devices, including electronics, software, and sensors.
The "Telnat" complex confirmed in an official statement that all functional and launch tests have been successfully completed on the satellite, and that the company is about to complete the procedures for the delivery of the satellite to the Russian company undertaking the launch into space on March 20, 2021, which coincides with the anniversary of Tunisia's independence.
The satellite will be used for vital purposes and to develop research in several sectors (Al-Jazeera)
Pure Tunisian competencies
The director general of "Talnat", Mohamed Fraikha, confirms to Al-Jazeera Net that the satellite, which cost $ 600,000 to complete, was manufactured by pure Tunisian competencies consisting of 20 engineers and technicians in the fields of electronics and space applications, after his company chose to invest in space technology within the framework of partnership agreements. With the Russian Space Agency "Roscosmos" and "GK Launch Services".
Fraikha also indicated that the Tunisian satellite manufacturing had relied on the development of the "LoRa" protocol, which is a wireless communication protocol usually used in terrestrial scientific research.
However, it was developed to be suitable for space experiments, particularly with regard to energy reduction and data flow velocity.
The Tunisian satellite "Challenge 1" is nothing but the beginning of other space projects whose owners want to turn Tunisia into an international technology pole in the field of space industries, as 30 more satellites will be completed to cover the needs of African and Middle Eastern countries.