July 30, 2024 (JST)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

 The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) cooperate under the KiboCUBE program launched in 2015 to provide developing countries with opportunities to deploy CubeSats from the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” of the International Space Station (ISS).

 JAXA and UNOOSA have selected the joint team from the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology of Tanzania and the Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët Boigny (INP-HB) of Cote d'Ivoire for the eighth round of KiboCUBE program, which was open for applications from June 2, 2023 through December 31, 2023 (Reference No.1).

 JAXA and UNOOSA also started an educational program titled “KiboCUBE Academy” in January 2021 to further promote capacity building on CubeSat development. (Reference No.2) Through KiboCUBE program, JAXA continues to contribute to the capacity building of space technology in developing countries and the Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality education, Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth, Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, as well as the promotion of Kibo utilization.

(Reference No.1)　Eighth round selection result

Satellite name: TanSat-1
Primary Applicant: Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology
Co-Applicant: Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët Boigny
Mission Overview: capacity-building, technology demonstration (IoT data collection, data relay, image acquisition etc.)
Size: 1U (10cmx10cmx11.35cm, 1.3kg at a maximum mass)

(Reference No.2)
Please visit UNOOSA Wbsite for more detail of KiboCUBE Academy:
https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/access2space4all/KiboCUBE/KiboCUBE_Index.html External Link

JAXA
Masaki Shirakawa, Director of JEM Utilization Center, Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate said:
 “I am very pleased that the joint team from the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology of Tanzania and the Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët Boigny of Cote d'Ivoire has been selected to join the eighth round of the KiboCUBE programme and that JAXA, in cooperation with UNOOSA, will be part of the team effort to develop and deploy the first Tanzanian and Cote d'Ivoire satellite from the Kibo module on the ISS. It is exciting to see that KiboCUBE has developed into a sustainable program contributing to the advancement of space technology in multiple space emerging nations. With the help of UNOOSA's extensive network across space emerging countries, we at JAXA are committed to fully utilize our technical competence and Kibo's unique capabilities for the development of space technology in countries that do not have launching capabilities.”

UNOOSA
Aarti Holla-Maini, Director of UNOOSA said:
 “Working together in building capacity in space science, technologies and their applications to support the implementation of space-based solutions is one of our mandates. The KiboCUBE programme under the Access to Space for All initiative symbolizes the common mission of UNOOSA and JAXA to accelerate sustainable development. I congratulate the winning team and look forward to our joint effort in turning your dreams and ambitions into reality.”

Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT)
Preksedis M. Ndomba, Rector of DIT said:
 “The Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology is honored to be the awardee of the 8th round of KiboCUBE, as a result of stewardship of the Government of United Republic of Tanzania, in space technology advancement in Tanzania. We gratefully extend heartfelt gratitude to UNOOSA, JAXA and partners for exceptional support accorded to us and endorsing our mission of utilizing space technology to benefit various sectors across Africa.”

Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët Boigny (INP-HB)
Moussa Abdoul Kader Diaby, Director General of INP-HB said:
 “The INP-HB of Côte d'Ivoire is honored to be the joint winner of the 8th round of the KiboCUBE program, with the DIT of Tanzania. We thank UNOOSA and JAXA for the opportunity to build our space capacity through this program. The collaboration with Tanzania reflects the African Union's vision of promoting capacity building in space technology through collaborative efforts. We are committed to providing the resources needed to succeed.”