Africa

Independent coverage by Scott Manley of the solid-state vacuum-arc thruster developed by Solid State Propulsion / Paul Stansell. The video explains the metal-plasma ablation principle, performance claims for low-power CubeSat/PocketQube use, and the absence of tanks or valves. This is the highest-visibility third-party technical exposure the company received in the window.

Independent coverage by Scott Manley of the solid-state vacuum-arc thruster developed by Solid State Propulsion / Paul Stansell. The video explains the metal-plasma ablation principle, performance claims for low-power CubeSat/PocketQube use, and the absence of tanks or valves. This is the highest-visibility third-party technical exposure the company received in the window.

Detailed founder interview in a prominent South African business/tech newsletter. Emphasises solid-state reliability, plasma generation from metal electrodes, and active shipping of units to customers in the US and Europe. Hiring call is included.

Detailed founder interview in a prominent South African business/tech newsletter. Emphasises solid-state reliability, plasma generation from metal electrodes, and active shipping of units to customers in the US and Europe. Hiring call is included.

Space in Africa's 2025 African Space Industry Annual Report valued the African space economy at $24.95 billion, projecting expansion to $39.52 billion by 2030 at a 7.97% CAGR. The report identified 327 active commercial space companies across 36 African countries. Key findings: Egypt leads satellite launches (9 total), South Africa has the most operational satellites, Nigeria licenses commercial operators (BeetleSat, Satelio IoT), and Kenya was selected as the only African country for the ISS ARISS Programme 2026. At least eight African satellites are projected to launch in 2026, including the multilateral AfDevSat climate satellite (Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Uganda).

The African Space Agency (AfSA) was formally inaugurated on April 20, 2025 at its permanent headquarters in Egypt's Space City, New Cairo, during the NewSpace Africa Conference. The ceremony was attended by African Union Commission officials, heads of African national space agencies, and international delegates from ESA, NASA, JAXA, CNES, and the UAE Space Agency. AfSA signed founding partnership agreements with ESA, the UAE Space Agency, and Roscosmos. The agency becomes one of only two regional space agencies in the world alongside ESA, with a mandate to coordinate space activities across all 55 AU member states. The African space economy is valued at $24.95 billion in 2025 and projected to reach $39.52 billion by 2030.