The agency is based in the Nigerian capital city of Abuja in the Lugbe district and has a ground receiving station, among various other sites.

The provision of efficient, reliable and adequate telecommunications services in Nigeria in order to enhance the growth of the industrial, commercial and administrative sectors of the economy.

This will enable us to lay the foundation for deriving maximum benefits from the nation's participation in the space enterprise.

Communication and Information Technology to provide efficient and reliable telecommunications services for Nigeria in order to enhance the growth of the industrial, commercial and administrative sectors of the economy.

Defence and Security to help the Federal Government shall develop a necessary Space Science Technology (SST) programme that will address the national needs of Nigeria.

[7] The primary objectives of the Nigeriasat-1 were: to give early warning signals of environmental disaster; to help detect and control desertification in the northern part of Nigeria; to assist in demographic planning; to establish the relationship between vectors and the environment that breeds malaria and to give early warning signals on future outbreaks of meningitis using remote sensing technology; to provide the technology needed to bring education to all parts of the country through distant learning; and to aid in conflict resolution and border disputes by mapping out state and International borders.

This satellite was launched into orbit by the Ukrainian Dnepr rocket from a Yasny military base in Russia on 17 August 2011.

It was designed to provide coverage to many parts of Africa, and the Ka band transponders would also cover Italy.

According to Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, it was put into "emergency mode operation in order to effect mitigation and repairs".

On 24 March 2009, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, NigComSat Ltd. and CGWIC signed a further contract for the in-orbit delivery of the NigComSat-1R satellite.

[14] Robert Ajayi Boroffice announced at a public lecture on space technology development that Nigeria will be able to build indigenous satellites in the country without foreign assistance by 2018.

Robert Ajayi Boroffice told the press that Nigeria will take advantage of its geographic location to launch into near-equatorial orbit by an indigenous developed space launcher from a national spaceport to be built around 2025–2028.

When it was announced by former federal minister of innovation, science and technology Ogbonnaya Onu in 2016 that Nigeria was going to send an astronaut by 2030, it was met with criticism.