Kenya’s first satellite is now in Earth orbit The first outer-space object registered by Kenya has been launched and is now flying over our heads. The news: Created by the University of Nairobi, satellite 1KUNS-PF was deployed from the Japanese module of the International Space Station. This makes Kenya the first sub-Saharan African nation to deploy a nano-satellite into space. Some background: NASA did launch a satellite from Kenya back in the 1970s, but it was not a Kenya-centric project and did little to benefit the country. After the launch, the country’s space program essentially stopped. Why it matters: The Kenya’s first satellite is now in Earth orbit The first outer-space object registered by Kenya has been launched and is now flying over our heads. The news: Created by the University of Nairobi, satellite 1KUNS-PF was deployed from the Japanese module of the International Space Station. This makes Kenya the first sub-Saharan African nation to deploy a nano-satellite into space. Some background: NASA did launch a satellite from Kenya back in the 1970s, but it was not a Kenya-centric project and did little to benefit the country. After the launch, the country’s space program essentially stopped. Why it matters: The barriers to space exploration are being lowered, giving more countries access to space. Cube satellites such as this one will enable things like weather forecasting, crop monitoring, and wildlife tracking.  to space exploration are being lowered, giving more countries access to space. Cube satellites such as this one will enable things like weather forecasting, crop monitoring, and wildlife tracking.