1. Write about the new Ethiopian remote sensing satellite, Launching date and its specific purpose.

ET-SMART-RSS, formerly known as EthSat6U, is an Ethiopian earth observation 6U CubeSat developed jointly by the
Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI) and the Chinese Smart Satellite Technology to provide earth
observation services to China and African countries.
ESSTI has also become a strategic partner of Smart Satellite’s African business, and both sides have pledged to jointly
expand the African space market in the future. The nanosatellite was recently renamed ET-SMART-RSS from EthSat6U to
show the cooperation between ESSTI and SMART boldly (ET = Ethiopia/ ESSTI and SMART = Beijing Smart Satellite
Technology and RSS = Remote Sensing Satellite).
ESSTI prepared the preliminary design of the satellite and then the critical design. Smart Satellite handled the
manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing (MAIT) in close consultation with the ESSTI team.
The satellite will be launched in December 2020 on a Chinese launch vehicle from Wenchang.
ET-SMART-RSS is a 6U nanosatellite jointly developed by ESSTI and Chinese newspace company Beijing Smart Satellite
Technology (SMART).
The primary mission of the satellite program is to expose Ethiopian engineers and scientists to hands-on experience and
demonstrate the Institute’s capability in integrating nano-satellite subsystems locally.
Smart Satellite and ESSTI inked the deal to co-develop the satellite on 23 August 2019, in a signing ceremony held in
Beijing Sun Valley Industrial Park, China. ESSTI agreed to become a “strategic partner of Smart Satellite’s African business,
and both sides have pledged to jointly expand into the African space market in the future,” an earlier statement by SMART
reads in part.
According to the Deputy Director General of the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute, ET-Smart-RSS is a land
surveillance operation but its image quality is much better than ETRSS-1. ET-Smart-RSS is a nano satellite and has the
latest technology. He said the two satellites combined can provide better ground observation services, adding that the
institute will receive the combined images of the two. He also said that many satellites now cover a wide area and that
many images can be obtained in a short period of time.
ET-SMART-RSS marks another worthwhile achievement in Ethiopia’s space ambitions as the East African nation conceives a long-
term plan of having indigenous capabilities in the development and operation of satellite systems.
Nation: Ethiopia

Type / Application: Earth observation

Operator: Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI)

Contractors: Smart Satellite Technology

Equipment:

Configuration: CubeSat (6U)

Propulsion:

Power: Solar arrays, batteries

Lifetime:

Mass:

Orbit: 503 km × 513 km, 97.43°