African Outer Space Strategy

Aim

The African Outer Space Strategy gives Africa sovereign collective capability in space, coordinating Earth observation, satellite communications, meteorology, and navigation assets to support agriculture, disaster management, and infrastructure planning across the continent.

Progress to date

The African Space Agency (AfSA) was officially inaugurated on 20 April 2025 at Egypt Space City in New Cairo, Egypt. Africa now has 13 national space agencies and more than 50 satellites in orbit. AfSA coordinates these national programmes and represents Africa in international space governance bodies.

Challenges

Funding for AfSA remains limited relative to its mandate, few AU states have the industrial base to manufacture satellites domestically, and the strategic benefits of space assets are not yet equitably distributed across the continent.

Next steps

AfSA is establishing its operational governance structures, developing a continental space data-sharing platform, and building partnerships with ESA, NASA, and JAXA to transfer technology and build manufacturing capacity within Africa.