Space agency 'on track'

Speaking at the opening of the SatCom Africa 2007 conference this morning, science and technology minister Mosibudi Mangena said SA is on track to establish a space agency.

However, Mangena did not give timeframes for the development of the agency, nor did he give any indication of the size of potential investments in the project.

"The agency will coordinate all space-related activities, and ensure economic gains associated with space programmes are attained," he said at the Sandton event.

Mangena added that, by adopting a coordinated space programme, SA would be better positioned "to respond to some of our identified developmental challenges".

"These include mapping urban and rural settlement patterns to observe changes, building the capacity to support economic growth areas, increasing food security and managing disasters better than we are at present."

Speaking more generally, Mangena said government's continued investments in space, and its encouragement of the private sector to follow suit, can only be justified by the contribution space makes to current and future societal challenges.

"In looking at the future of space... over the next 10 to 20 years - space has been accepted as a long-term enterprise and one that will impact on everyone of us."

Mangena said initiatives his department supports in the space arena are mainly geared towards developing capacity, stimulating industrial innovation, and engaging academia and research institutes in knowledge generation.

"At the same time, we need to ensure all spheres of government use these tools to maximum benefit."

In July last year, Cabinet approved the establishment of a local space agency. It said the agency would co-ordinate its activities closely with the South African Council for Space Affairs, and report to the science and technology minister.

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