Story by Kimani Wanyoike Founder Leo Sky Africa
It’s a race. It’s always been a race.
The greatest achievements in space in the current and last century have largely been driven by the desire to do it first. The back light that illuminates popular Space news is whether it has successfully been done before. It seems our promiscuous attention has eyes only for the undone, the new, the novel.
We remember Cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin for being the first human to travel to outer Space but have no space in our collective RAM for the names of the second, third or fourth members of our species to break through the outer limits of our atmosphere. A few may state with confidence the names of the crew of Apollo 11, the first manned moon landing, but only a infinitesimal fraction of the same can name the crew of Apollo 12. We love firsts and want to be first.
Early 2019 an Israeli start up launched a moon lander on board a Space X rocket with ambitions of being the first private vehicle and spacecraft to achieve moon landing . Recently, China in a true statement of intent landed on the Dark side of the moon, another first. Japan, submitting to it’s inert “extraness” became the first to land two robots on an asteroid. In late 2018 and early 2019 the firsts have been coming thick and fast.
Space is another opportunity for Africans to claim more firsts. First successful mobile money platform, first drone based blood and drug delivery system, first blockchain baby, first mall with an integrated solar system,and last but not least, first man. These are all African. The culture that breeds brave, ambitious, and innovative pioneers can find perfect expression in taking part in our planet’s space race.
In this long distant sprint we have had a slow start but this is an advantage. It allows us to learn what to avoid while making completely new mistakes, never repeating the mistakes of others. It allows us to walk through technical barriers building on available success. It gives us perspective on what is important and what is superfluous. Finally it gives us space and room to focus on our main objective; Africans in space, for Africans, by Africans. It is no secret who runs the world when it comes to long distant races.
This is Leo Sky Africa, a willing partner and supporter of all things that allow the continent to leverage it’s great resources to gain Space for the betterment of humanity. We are here for the distance we are here to win.
Asante.
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