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Algeria
Space activities began on Algerian territory in colonial times with the constellation of launch complexes and nuclear weapons test sites established by France as the Special Weapons Test Center (CIEES). This began operations at Colomb-Bechar on April 24, 1947. Launch operations were moved to Hammaguira in 1952, supplemented by Reggane from 1961. France's first launch to orbit took place from Hammaguira in 1965. The evacuation of these launch sites was a condition of the final agreement signed in March 1962 that ended the Algerian Civil War. The sites continued in use until finally turned over to the Algerian government on 1 July 1967.

Algeria did not take concrete steps to return to space until the 1990's, when the decision was taken to participate in an international constellation of disaster-monitoring satellites. Algeria's first satellite was launched on November 28,2002.

Space affairs were run by the National Centre for Space Technology until 2003, when this was replaced by the Algerian Space Agency.

Launch Sites in Algeria
  • Hammaguira. Operating Country: France. Type: Orbital Launch Site. Location: Centre Interarmees d'Essais d'Engins Speciaux (CIEES). Latitude: 31.0995. Longitude: -2.8358.
  • Reggane. Operating Country: France. Type: Suborbital Launch Site. Latitude: 26.7189. Longitude: 0.2769.
Chronology of Events for Algeria

2002 November 28 - 06:07 GMT - Launch Site: Plesetsk. Launch Complex: LC132/1. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: Kosmos 3. Model: Kosmos 11K65M. LV Configuration: Kosmos 11K65M 53779-802.

  • ALSAT-1 Mass: 80 kg (176 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Civilian. Spacecraft: MicroSat-100. Manufacturer: Surrey. Agency: National Center for Space Technologies (Algeria). Perigee: 681 km (423 mi). Apogee: 745 km (462 mi). Inclination: 98.20 deg. Period: 99.00 min. COSPAR: 2002-054A. USAF Sat Cat: 27559. Delayed from September 12, October 29. ALSAT 1 was an Algerian imaging minisatellite. The 90-kg satellite was the first part of an international Disaster Monitoring System (DMS) for alerting natural/man-made disasters. ALSAT was built by Surrey Satellite for the CNTS (Centre National des Techniques Spatiales) in Algiers. It carriee a 32-m resolution 3-band imager, a 100 mN resistojet thruster for small orbit corrections, and a GPS receiver. The SSTL Microsat-100 class satellite was a 0.60m cube with a 6m gravity gradient boom. As well as gravity gradient stabilization, it used a momentum wheel to improve stability for imaging. References: 2, 552, 554. Level: 1.
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