After decades on the sidelines, African countries are venturing into the space industry, hoping to reap rewards in agriculture, disaster prevention and security.

Ivory Coast, which recently hosted a "NewSpace Africa" conference organized by the African Union, has announced the creation of a space agency and plans to build the country's first nanosatellite by 2024.

In April, Kenya's first working satellite was put into orbit by a SpaceX rocket launched from the United States.

The two countries follow African pioneers South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria and Egypt—a trailblazer which owned the first African satellite sent into space in 1998.

A new cohort of astronauts at the European Space Agency's training center in Cologne, Germany, can expect to see time in both the pool and the classroom as they get ready to head into orbit.

Trainees dive into the water to emulate the experience of working in zero gravity, as well as studying a variety of subjects from medicine to geology.

The aim of the curriculum is to prepare the group for service on the International Space Station (ISS) and later on a potential mission to the moon.

"The biggest challenge is to learn so many different things in a very short period of time," British astronaut Rosemary Coogan, 31, told AFP in an interview.

GOES-U, the fourth and final satellite in NOAA's GOES-R Series, recently completed a successful test deployment of its solar array to ensure it will function properly in space.

This critical test verified that the satellite's large, five-panel solar array—which is folded up when the satellite is launched—will properly deploy when GOES-U reaches geostationary orbit. During this test, engineers unfurled the five panels on rails that simulated the zero-gravity environment of space. Each solar panel is approximately 13 feet tall by 4.5 feet wide and weighs approximately 45 pounds.

Once GOES-U reaches orbit, the deployed solar panels will form a single solar array wing that will rotate once per day to continuously point its photovoltaic (solar) cells toward the sun. The photovoltaic cells will convert energy from the sun into electricity to power the entire satellite, including the instruments, computers, data processors, sensors, and telecommunications equipment. The solar array will generate more than 5,000 watts of power for the satellite. This is equivalent to the power needed to run a central air conditioning system in your home.