Kenya and Italy to Launch Regional Earth Observation Centre for Africa

Kenya and Italy have entered a landmark partnership to establish a regional centre for earth observation and an earth observation data centre in Nairobi.

The project, spearheaded by the Kenya Space Agency (KSA) in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency, is grounded in a new bilateral implementing arrangement signed between the two nations.

Once operational, the facility will offer cutting-edge infrastructure for acquiring, processing, disseminating, and archiving earth observation data. This development is expected to hugely enhance decision-making on climate resilience, agricultural productivity, environmental conservation, and disaster preparedness across Eastern and Central East Africa.

Kenya’s space centre in Malindi During a recent visit to the Luigi Broglio Space Centre in Malindi, Principal Secretary for ICT and the Digital Economy John Kipchumba Tanui praised the long-standing cooperation between Kenya and Italy in space science.

Founded in the 1960s via a pioneering partnership between NASA and Sapienza University of Rome, the Malindi centre—then known as the San Marco Equatorial Range—became the third equatorial launch site globally. From 1967 to 1988, it facilitated several high-profile satellite launches for Italy, the US, and the UK. 

Today, the centre provides high-precision satellite tracking, telemetry, and control (TT&C) services for missions by NASA, ESA, and other global agencies. It also plays a critical role as the final ground station for confirming satellite deployment after launch. 

According to KSA, On 26th March 2025, the final negotiation meeting for the renewal of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the Italian Space Agency and the workers of the Luigi Broglio Malindi Space Centre (LBMSC) was held at the Centre. The meeting culminated in the signing of the 2025-2028 CBA. The LBMSC is jointly managed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Kenya Space Agency, with a primary focus on orbital control, reception of telemetry from satellites, launchers support, and Earth Observation data acquisition.