Nigeria will launch its first indigenously built satellite by 2025, the official News Agency of Nigeria reports Sunday.

Robert Borofice, director general of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), was quoted as saying it had prepared a road map that would facilitate the process of designing, building and launching of an indigenous satellite.

"We have a 20 year development program and with the backing of government, within the next 18 years we should be able to design, build and launch our own satellite within the country," he said.

"In terms of the design of software and hardware, we have trained engineers who have the basic ideas in designing, fabricating, integrating and launching of a satellite."

Nigeria sent its first and only satellite, NigeriaSat-1, to the orbit last year in Russia, the third on the poorest continent, after South Africa and Algeria.

Source: Xinhua