The Director General and Chief Executive, National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Dr. Matthew Adepoju has emphasized that NASRDA is at the forefront of regulating space activities in Nigeria which enhances the country’s space capabilities to address national needs.
He made this statement while receiving a delegation from the Embassy of the United States of America at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
Dr Adepoju stated that NASRDA is built to address national needs and security concerns
for the economic growth and development of the country by leveraging on space technology.
He said that NASRDA shares satellite data imagery and intelligence with other security agencies to boost National Security, border surveillance and disaster management.
The Director-General stressed that NASRDA is rooted in capacity building and would love to partner with the Defense security Cooperation University, USA for joint research projects on specific Space Technology applications, for national security.
Speaking earlier, the head of the delegation from the Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU), Mr. Miguel Castellanos, expressed appreciation to the Director-General for the warm reception and expressed optimism over future collaboration between the Agency and the Defense Security Cooperation University, USA.
In his remarks, the Space Subject Matter Expert from DSCU Mr. Marcus Hitchcock, stated that the United States Department of War routinely provides funded capability and capacity-building support to various nations, with DSCU serving as the execution arm for the Department’s capacity-building programmes.
He stated that the United States of America recognizes NASRDA as a significant contributor to Nigeria’s space security and is therefore interested in partnering with the Agency to support capacity-building programmes aimed at strengthening space security in the country.
Mr. Hitchcock revealed that their mission is to gain a deeper understanding of how NASRDA responds to satellite anomalies, manages space threat awareness, and implements space response protocols.
He further disclosed that they are willing to partner with NASRDA to address institutional gaps and remove barriers to the successful execution of any national space security missions in Nigeria.
Below are pictures from the event.
Reporter: Chidimma Ayogu
Editor: Ninma Yacim
Photo credit: Ibrahim Zakari
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