JEAN-PATRICE KEKA( African scientist/rocket designer) A private initiative to conquer space is ongoing in Congo-Kinshasa, thanks to the ingenuity of one man, Jean-Patrice Keka Ohemba Okese, who has federated a team of Congolese scientists. Jean-Patrice Keka is himself a scientist who studied at the Institut Supérieur des Techniques Appliquées (ISTA) in Kinshasa. He is heading a small company named DTA (Développement Tous Azimuts). It is in 2005 that DTA started its space program named "Troposphere" that aimed at launching 5 experimental rockets that should not exceed an altitude of 36 152 m. DTA bought some land at the Menkao site in the suburbs of Kinshasa where it has set up a control center with all the necessary equipment to manufacture and launch rockets. This small "made in Congo" room has, among others, an automatic powering device, a telemetry system (speed and altitude via GPS), a video monitoring system to control the rocket trajectory and a rocket launching pad. The rockets are manufactured with scrap. Troposphere I, the first rocket designed by DTA, should have been launched in April 2007. Due to technical reasons related to the beginnings of the space program, the rocket did not take off. Troposphere II was successfully launched on July 10, 2007 and reached an altitude of 1,014 m in 35 seconds. It had a mass of 15.465 kg and a diameter of 5 cm. Troposphere III should have taken off on October 12, 2007; but it was a failure. Troposphere IV was successfully launched on July 10, 2008, one year after Troposphere II. It is exactly at 5:40 PM that the rocket took off from the pad to reach an altitude of 1,548 m in 47 seconds at the supersonic speed Mach 2.7 (2.7 times the speed of sound). It had a diameter of 16 cm, a mass of 200 kg and a one-ton thrust. The Troposphere program was self-financed by DTA. However, after the successful launches of Troposphere II and IV, the Congolese government decided to get involved in the project.
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 19:11:42 +0000
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