South Africa aims to become a regional centre for space technology, investing in satellite and telescope projects to support its economy, says science and technology minister Naledi Pandor.
"When a country engages in a programme as significant globally as space science, there are many areas in which the economy is boosted. First, in terms of the products, such as building satellites [or] you may want to establish a launching pad; that in itself is a major infrastructural investment," Pandor says.
The country is home to the Southern Hemisphere's largest telescope, Salt, and has built three satellites since 1999, which received attention from space pioneers Nasa and Russia's Roskosmos agency.
“Part of economic growth is not just productive activity, it's also intellectual capacity," Pandor says of local projects attracting international interest.
The DST will also establish the South African National Space Agency by 2011. The agency will promote the peaceful use of outer space; foster research in astronomy, earth observation, communications, navigation and space physics; foster international co-operation in space-related activities; and advance scientific, engineering and technological competencies.
SKA progress
Meanwhile, the country's 80-dish, R900 million radio telescope array programme, MeerKAT, has awarded a R46 million contract for the construction of a specialised power line and a fibre-optic cable system.
Optic 1 was awarded the contract and it is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
The power line is expected to be 108.5km long and run from a substation, just outside Carnarvon, to the MeerKAT site. The fibre-optic cable will link the radio telescope array with its Cape Town-based control centre. The cable is expected to be operated by state-owned enterprise Broadband Infraco.
SA is bidding against Australia to host the 1.5 billion-euro Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope, made up of an array of 3 000 to 5 000 antennas. The bulk will be near Carnarvon, but outstations will be placed in Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Madagascar, Kenya and Ghana. The DST says it will be the world's largest radio telescope and will spin off great technological developments.
The department recently reported it had spent R258 million since 2003 to date on securing the SKA. The department said R23 million had gone to a number of South African universities for bursaries, postdoctoral fellowships and grants to promote radio astronomy. Another R155 million had been spent building roads to the site, while R11.5 million was spent on building accommodation.
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