Kenya launched its first operational earth observation satellite on Saturday onboard a SpaceX rocket from the United States. The satellite, developed by nine Kenyan engineers, will collect agricultural and environmental data, including on floods, drought, and wildfires, that authorities plan to use for disaster management and to combat food insecurity. “We have the challenges that have been brought about by climate change, which the satellite, by virtue of being able to capture images (will be able to help monitor)”, Capt. Alloyce Were, an aeronautical engineer and deputy director of Navigation and Positioning at the government-run Kenya Space Agency, told Reuters on Friday before the satellite’s launch. The satellite was put together with the help of Bulgarian aerospace company Endurosat at a cost of 50 million Kenyan shillings (USD 372,000) over two years, the space agency said. The agency said it will operate for five years and then decay over 20 years, entering the atmosphere and burning out.