Country dossier · RWA
Rwanda
Nascent native capability
A sourced snapshot of Rwanda's posture in space — capability, institutions, orbital assets, law and people. Every figure carries its primary source; gaps are shown honestly, never filled with invented data.
Open Rwanda in the interactive workspace →Capability tier
Nascent native capability
Launches to orbit from its own territory: noLaunch sites on record: 0Nationals who have flown: 0
Space agency
Rwanda Space Agency (RSA)
National space agency · established 2021
Source: audited_dump.json space_capability.agency_name (curated, per-field sourced)
Satellites (owner state)
5
Counted from the GCAT May 2026 snapshot. The interactive workspace shows a live CelesTrak figure, which uses different owner-attribution rules and will differ.
Source: GCAT · General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (J. McDowell) · May 2026 snapshot
Ground stations
Space budget
No published space budget indexed for this country.
National strategy
National Space Policy of Rwanda (2021)
Policy creating the Rwanda Space Agency and orienting national capacity toward LEO communications and EO
International space law
| Instrument | Status |
|---|---|
| Outer Space Treaty 1967 | Signed only |
| Rescue Agreement 1968 | Signed only |
| Liability Convention 1972 | Signed only |
| Registration Convention 1975 | Not a party |
| Moon Agreement 1979 | Not a party |
| Artemis Accords 2020 | Signatory (2022-12-13) |
Source: Status of international agreements relating to activities in outer space (1 January 2026)
Launch sites
No launch infrastructure.
Source: National launch site roster · ALL IN SPACE compilation
Astronauts
No nationals have flown in space on record.
Source: Space in Africa - Gaspard Twagirayezu appointed CEO of Rwanda Space Agency
Milestones
- 2021Rwanda Space Agency (RSA) established
Notable missions and contributions
- RWASAT-1 (3U CubeSat, deployed from the ISS Kibo module 20 Nov 2019; developed by ArkEdge Space with The University of Tokyo and Rwandan government agencies)
- Icyerekezo (2019, OneWeb partnership)
- Artemis Accords signatory
- ITU mega-constellation filing CINNAMON-937 (filed 21 Sep 2021): 327,320 satellites across 27 orbital shells