The Nigerian satellites were put into orbit by a Russian Dnepr rocket from Yasny, southern Russia. Nigeria collaborates with UK engineers on this project, and the satellites are being monitored from control stations in Guildford, UK, and Abuja in Nigeria.

The satellites could help monitor scarce rainfall in the extremely dry Sahel region where hundreds of thousands of people are threatened by occasional floods. The satellites will also help securing food production in this region ravaged by famines.

Read more at BBC News