• Adolfo Urso, Italy’s Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, has revealed plans to revive the Luigi Broglio space centre, an Italian-run facility near Malindi in Kenya. 

• The centre, which will be used to launch earth observation satellites in a few years, is a goal shared by both the Italian and Kenyan governments under the Mattei Plan, an Italian development initiative for African countries.

• “The idea is to give a new, more ambitious mission to this base and use it for the launch of low-orbit micro satellites for Earth observation, particularly for climate change phenomena such as desertification,” Urso said. 

He also stated that the centre will help to build capacity and train Kenyan students, industry experts, and scientists.

Since 2018, Kenya has launched three satellites into space, but the launches have been done overseas. However, this development is expected to strengthen Kenya’s space sector by providing the government and private sector with a more affordable and convenient option for launching satellites domestically.

It will also generate benefits such as increased revenue and a competitive advantage in the space industry.

The Kenya Space Bill 2024 allows the Cabinet Secretary to establish new space centres for various purposes, including earth observation, navigation and positioning, space science and astronomy, satellite communications, space systems engineering, and launch activities.

It also gives the Kenyan Space Agency the authority to approve all launch activities by Kenyan entities, whether domestically or internationally. 

In October 2024, Ursoʼs visited Kenya and inaugurated the “Luigi Broglio Space Museum.” The museum provides an educational platform for the public while commemorating the facility’s history and honouring the legacy of Professor Luigi Broglio, the project’s founder.

He then stated that the base will be given a new mission, becoming a training centre for space operators from African countries that have recently established a continental space agency.

The Luigi Broglio space centre, managed by the Italian space agency ASI, is located 30 kilometres (19 miles) north of Malindi and began operations in the 1960s.  The space centre saw over 28 launches between 1967 and 1988.