Consortium appointed to advise on Kenyan spaceport

Details: Vaughan O'Grady; Category: Satellite Networks; 29 October 2026; 541 views

Salience Consulting, a management advisory firm specialising in the digital infrastructure and ICT sectors, has been appointed to provide transaction advisory services for a proposed commercial spaceport in Kenya.

Also appointed have been consortium partners spaceport architecting company SpaceDreamS and consulting engineering company Gauff Consultants Africa. The partners met in Nairobi this week as the team began engagement with stakeholders.

Salience explains that the appointment comes as the Kenya Space Agency and the National Treasury’s Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Directorate begin detailed project preparation, having signed a funding agreement for the project’s feasibility study on 1 October this year.

Salience leads the consortium and its financial, legal and environmental and social work. SpaceDreamS leads spaceport technical feasibility and systems engineering. Gauff Consultants Africa leads civil and infrastructure engineering.

The feasibility study will assess potential sites, launch infrastructure, market demand, environmental and social impacts, and economic and financial viability, including value for money and options for private sector participation. Its findings will inform the Kenya Space Agency’s decision on whether and how to proceed.

If the project proceeds, the consortium will support PPP procurement through to financial close, while building capacity within the Kenya Space Agency and the PPP Directorate.

As Salience notes, Kenya is not new to space launch. Between 1964 and 1988, the San Marco Equatorial Range off the coast near Malindi launched 18 sounding rockets and nine satellites, one of only two sites in Africa to have launched satellites.

PPP pointed out after the signing early this month that the global space sector has experienced significant growth, driven by increasing activity by governmental, intergovernmental, non-governmental and private-sector players in satellite development, deployment and launch services.

It feels that this growth presents a significant opportunity based on Kenya’s location along the equator and its east-facing coastline, which provides significant geographic advantages for launch operations, including the potential for more efficient launch trajectories. These advantages are complemented by ongoing investments in enabling infrastructure in the coastal region, including roads, water, energy and port infrastructure.

The spaceport, PPP added, is expected to drive industrialisation, create jobs, and generate positive socio-economic impacts, including skills development. The project is also expected to open a new revenue stream for government through revenue-share mechanisms for the developed, commercially viable launching site.