Ernest Simo
A NASA engineer, the first African finalist in the astronaut programme
Born in 1956
Who are they?
An engineer born in 1956 in Okola. Trained in England — Portsmouth, Essex, then a PhD in electrical engineering at Birmingham — he specialised in satellite telecommunications.
What made them famous
He worked for NASA and became, in 1994 and again in 1996, the first African to reach finalist stage in the agency’s astronaut programme. He had earlier been the first to install a VSAT system, a small-dish satellite transmission technology.
Key facts
- He developed VSAT systems at Hughes Network Systems from 1983.
- Founder of the company Space 2000.
- He has taught at Cameroon’s school of posts and telecommunications since 1999.