The newly-launched earth observation satellite, NigeriaSat-2, is now set for commercial activities, a top government official has said.

Director-general of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) Mohammed Seidu disclosed this on Friday in Abuja, adding that Nigeria's first satellite in orbit NigeriaSat-1 is to be decommissioned soon.

Seidu, who was giving a rundown of the activities of NASRDA, said the testing of Sat-2, launched in August 2011, had been completed and commercial activities would take off soon.

The director general, who did not disclose the specific time for decommissioning NigeriaSat-1 and the takeoff of commercial activities for the NigeriaSat-2, cited security reasons as why he could not divulge the information.

According to him, the satellite had finally come to the end of its life and needed to be decommissioned so that the fuel left in it could be used for the decommissioning.

Seidu said there would be very minimal environmental impact as the satellite was small and most of it would have burnt out in orbit before it re-enters the earth.

Nigeria become the third African country to have a presence in space after South Africa and Algeria with the launch of NigeriaSat- 1.

Source: Xinhua News Agency