Our Scans · Lesotho · Weekly Summary

• [New] Residents of the Free State will see fine conditions in the north; otherwise, it will be cloudy and cold to very cold, with isolated showers and thundershowers in the southern part and along the Lesotho border. The Citizen
• [New] The GEF will provide $177 million from its record 2022-2026 funding period for environmental projects and programs in Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Global Environment Facility
• Lesotho, with support from the African Development Bank, is leveraging its abundant water and renewable energy resources to chart an ambitious path that will accelerate its economic transformation and have a huge impact on South Africa and Botswana. ENSafrica
• Approximately 75% of food crop farmers in Southern Africa (countries like South Africa, Botswana, Malawi, Lesotho, Namibia, and Zimbabwe) relies heavily on irrigation as alternate source of water for their farms due to unpredictable rainfall and rising temperature. SpringerLink
• The Polihlali Dam will feed 490 million cubic meters of water a year from the Lesotho Highlands into the Vaal River System, securing water supply to several provinces for years to come. DIRCO
• The completion of phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands project will bring relief if supplemented by water demand management interventions, use of new water-saving technologies and proper maintenance of infrastructure. SAnews
• Lesotho and other southern Africa countries including Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi were hit by drought in recent months, scorching crops and leaving millions at risk of hunger. Carbon Brief
• Chinese carmaker Geely, meanwhile, plans for a 240-satellite constellation known as Geely Future Mobility Constellation, with the first phase of 72 satellites to be launched into low earth orbit by 2025. DIGITIMES Inc.
• SpaceX plans to create a propellant depot in low Earth orbit, filled by a series of Starship tanker launches, that would then be used to fuel the lunar lander Starship for its trip to the moon. SpaceNews
• SpaceX's first launch of 2024 will see a further 21 Starlink spacecraft carried to low Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket, which will lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Space
• NASA is working closely with commercial companies to develop new space stations capable of providing services to NASA and others, which will ensure that the U.S. maintains a continuous human presence in low Earth orbit and provides direct benefits for people on Earth. Daily Planet
• New Glenn will be capable of launching payloads of more than 13 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbits that could send payloads further out into space, and 45 tons for satellites flying to low Earth orbits. The Register
• The company in October completed a successful hardware-in-the-loop test of a 5G non-terrestrial network payload and is moving forward with plans to launch a satellite to low Earth orbit in 2024 for a space demonstration. SpaceNews
• The Gaganyaan mission aims to send humans into space on a Low Earth Orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and bring them safely back to earth in 2025. Business Today
• ULA's Atlas V rocket will deliver two prototype satellites into low Earth orbit for Project Kuiper, a LEO satellite network that will provide fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world. Space Coast Daily
• Project Kuiper is an initiative from Amazon with a planned satellite internet constellation of 3,276 satellites, which will operate in low Earth orbit. Everyday Astronaut
• The 197-foot-tall rocket will be able to lift 10 metric tons to low Earth orbit and 4.5 metric tons to Sun-synchronous orbital altitudes of 500 miles (800 kilometers). Gizmodo
• HTHL spacecraft will operate within the airport environment much like current fixed-wing aircraft traffic and will utilize existing infrastructure to reach low earth orbit. The Paso Robles Press | Daily Paso Robles News
• Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company OneWeb will provide a global system from early 2024 with all 634 first-generation satellites in orbit and plans are under way to put next-generation satellites into space in three or four years' time. Shephard Media
• Canada's Telesat on Monday said it has signed a agreement with SpaceX to launch its low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellation called Lightspeed starting in 2026, with the aim of providing global broadband service from space in late 2027. Economic Times
• Satellite operator Telestat announced on Monday that it has signed a deal with SpaceX to carry 18 of its Lightspeed satellites into low Earth orbit starting in 2026. MarketScreener
• TO) on Monday said it has sealed an agreement with SpaceX to launch its low-Earth-orbit satellites from 2026, with the aim of providing global broadband service from space in late 2027. Reuters
• Further major steps will see ISRO conduct a pair of uncrewed flights to test and validate Gaganyaan's technology in low Earth orbit and ensure the modified Launch Vehicle Mark-3 rocket can safely carry humans to orbit. Space

Last updated: 13 June 2025