When the African Space Agency opened in April, spacefaring countries like Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa came together for the first time. But they have been collaborating with Europe and China for decades.

For Temidayo Oniosun, the story is the same as it ever was: "Space is nothing new in Africa." But the dimensions have changed, said the space scientist and founder of Space in Africa , a think tank in Lagos, Nigeria.

During the early space race in the 1960s, African countries played an important role in the Apollo moon missions, Oniosun told DW. They hosted critical infrastructure, without which, "the missions wouldn't have been possible."

"But nobody talked about that," Oniosun said. "When America sent [NASA astronaut] Neil Armstrong to the moon, it wasn't like, 'This is good for America, and we thank Africa and other regions for their contribution.' But Africa played a role in that. And the reason we tell this story is to provide the context that space isn't a brand new thing in Africa."

What has changed, however, is that African countries don't just host infrastructure these days -- they build and own the infrastructure, design and launch satellites, with space technology specific to the continent's needs.

According to Oniosun, it's important to understand that "space is a means to an end" in Africa. It is technology that people use to make their lives better.

"These guys are not thinking, 'We want to go to the moon or Mars.' They're thinking, 'I can use this satellite to provide connectivity to my village. I've got flooding issues, drought issues, my farm is not yielding, and I can use this satellite data to improve that.'"

A lot of satellite data is freely available. But African countries have needs that are specific to the equatorial region, and European and other satellite programs often don't cater to those needs.

Olugbenga Olumodimu, a space program manager at the University of Portsmouth in the UK, thinks African space science is "very niche."

"If I try to replicate [what I do here] in Africa, it is not going to work," he told DW. "So, I have to learn the physics of the equator. You need to understand what they do, to make what you know, applicable."

Sometimes it's a matter of using different instruments to measure region-specific data, or positioning a satellite at a particular angle to achieve the best measurements. But ultimately it comes down to the data people in Africa need.

Take, for example, solar storms -- or space weather -- which is a global threat. A severe solar storm has the potential to knock out national power grids, and that effect may be the same in more than one region at the same time.

Other effects may vary from region to region. In northern latitudes of the planet, solar storms are considered a threat to radio signals, such as communications between airplanes and ground control stations. In Nigeria, solar storms are considered a greater threat to the performance of petroleum pipelines, a major factor in its hydrocarbon economy.

But put both sets of data together and everyone gets a fuller picture of the effects of solar weather.

"If parts of the Earth are not sufficiently covered like other places, then the science is not complete," said Olumodimu. "We work together to make the science effective."

Olumodimu noted there were plans for a collaboration to design a satellite that will measure space-weather effects in the high- and mid-latitudes and in the equatorial region at the same time.

"When we have that sort of data, it is easier to do what we call global science," he said.

In South Africa, meanwhile, the military is also concerned about the effects of solar weather. It shares that data -- for instance, with the European Space Agency -- which then in turn makes the data available as a global service.

"Such services usually go on for decades," said Thomas Weissenberg, an external relations Africa expert at the European Space Agency. "A solar storm could hit satellites and simply destroy them. It could be the end of many Earth Observation satellites, communication satellites, Starlink and so on."

Europe and Africa have collaborated on space projects for 30 years. In January 2025, the European Commission recommitted with a new Africa-EU Space Partnership Programme worth €100 million ($117 million).

"[Our partnership] has gotten more intensive, especially in the past five to eight years due to developments in Africa and in Europe as well. Geopolitical reasons might play a role as well," Weissenberg told DW.

When the Africa Space Agency (AfSA) was inaugurated in April 2025 in Cairo, Egypt, it may well have marked a new chapter in Africa's space story. AfSA aims to bring countries together to work together, share infrastructure and data.

"You've got countries like Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria and South Africa -- some of their national space programs are more than two decades old," said Oniosun. "Then you've got relatively young space programs -- the Kenyan Space Agency was founded in 2017, Ethiopia and Rwanda. Countries like that are at a different level. Now, everybody is talking with each other."

Olumodimu distinguishes between "spacefaring" and "space-aspiring" countries, without wishing to offend any of the younger space countries, as he added.

"When we started in Nigeria with the first communication satellite, part of the work was done at the Surrey Satellite Centre, UK, and the launch was done from Asia," said Olumodimu. "But right now, there is quite a lot going on within the African continent itself."

It's hoped that AfSA will aid the transfer of knowledge and technology on the African continent, no matter a country's level of expertise. And it seems to be working: everyone is looking to collaborate with Egypt, AfSA's host country.

"Egypt's ambition is to be at the forefront [of space in Africa]," said Olumodimu.

How AfSA's fortunes will develop, is, however, "uncertain," said Weissenberg. "Africa is even more complicated in Europe." Chances are they will succeed -- if alone for the fact that they have the backing of China.

"One word on Egypt," said Weissenberg, "they are smart. They launched a strategic partnership with China."

Weissenberg stresses that China built the whole AfSA site, from the buildings to the technical infrastructure. And in return for their investment, "they get control over Africa. It's that simple."

Africa sees space as 'a means to an end'