Lagos, Nigeria ? A Nigerian satellite blasted into orbit Saturday aboard a Russian rocket, propelling one of the poorest nations on earth into space for the first time.

Millions of Nigerians watched the launch — at Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome — on live television.

“It makes me proud to be a Nigerian,” said Prosper Sunday, a 27-year-old security guard in Lagos. “It shows our nation is progressing. We’ve joined the space age.”

The government plans to use the $13 million satellite to monitor water resources, soil erosion, deforestation and disasters, space agency spokesman Solomon Olaniyi told The Associated Press.

It will be used to watch military facilities and the country’s oil pipelines and infrastructure. Nigeria is one of the world’s largest exporters of oil, but thieves siphon off hundreds of thousands of barrels every day.

“It’s a great feat for Nigeria,” said Joseph Akinyede of the National Space Research and Development Agency, based in the capital, Abuja. “We have a footprint in space.”

On Earth, Nigeria is struggling to provide 132 million citizens with clean water, basic health services and education. Most villages have no running water or electricity.

Russian Kosmos-3M rocket blasts off at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The rocket brought four satellites from Nigeria into orbit Saturday.