Space
Rwanda
Space agency/agencies
Rwanda Space Agency (L’Agence Spatiale Rwandaise; RSA; founded in 2020 and sanctioned by the legislature in 2021) (2025)
Space program overview
maintains a modest initiative aimed at advancing space technologies, including satellite communication and imaging for purposes such as connectivity, disaster response, security, and socioeconomic progress; manages communication and remote sensing (RS) satellites; has formed collaborations with various countries' space agencies or industries, such as those of France, Israel, Japan, Poland, the UAE, and the US, alongside members of the African Space Agency; aspires to position itself as a center for satellite manufacturing in Africa and has promoted the growth of a local commercial space industry (2025)
Key space-program milestones
2018 - entered into a partnership agreement with Japan for training in the design and production of mini-satellites
2019 - launched the first remote sensing (RS) nanosatellite (RWASAT-1) with support from and under the launch of Japan; also saw the launch of the first commercial communications satellite (Icyerekezo), developed with France
2022 - became a signatory to the US-led Artemis Accords concerning space exploration
2025 - became a member of the newly established African Space Agency