GhanaSat-1

GhanaSat-1 was Ghana’s first satellite, developed by engineers from All Nations University’s Space Systems Technology Laboratory with Kyushu Institute of Technology through BIRDS-1. This individual 1U spacecraft shared the first-generation BIRDS design. It travelled aboard Dragon CRS-11 on June 3, 2017 UTC, then entered independent orbit after deployment from the International Space Station’s Kibo module on July 7. The project combined satellite construction, imaging, radio communications and operation through a multinational ground-station network. BIRDS Newsletter 42 estimated GhanaSat-1’s atmospheric reentry as May 22, 2019 from orbital tracking data. The satellite’s historical mission is distinct from later Ghanaian satellite-development proposals.