A year and a half ago, we took to SpaceNews to plead our case: If the United States teamed up with African nations in space, everyone would win. Washington would deepen relationships across a fast-changing continent while African partners could use space technology to tackle critical problems like food insecurity, climate resilience and digital isolation.

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Scott Firsing, PhD is a U.S.-Africa expert and Director of Business Development at CesiumAstro, a global leader in advanced connectivity solutions for space and defense, headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Zolana João, D.Eng., is the first General Manager of Angola’s National Space Program Management Office (GGPEN). He serves as the Vice Chair for Africa for ITSO, a research affiliate with MIT's Space Enabled Research Group, and a co-founder of Arusha...