Although SA was one of the last countries to enter the space race, it is now successfully a part of it, says the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
Following the launch of the Sumbandila satellite, in September, the DST says contact had been established and its cameras are now in the correct position.
Information from the satellite is satisfactory and is already being used, says Phil Mjwara, director-general of the DST. Information on agricultural yield, water supply, climate change, mapping and observation is already being received through the 81kg micro-satellite.
The satellite, which was launched by Russian space station Roskosmos, carries a high-resolution camera that is being used to produce images to monitor agriculture, map infrastructure and land use, track population movement, and measure the water levels of dams.
The satellite is part of the DST's three-year, R26 million integrated capacity-building and satellite development project. In October 2005, then minister of science and technology Mosibudi Mangena announced the project, and the satellite was delivered to the DST in November 2006.
Data is now being streamed to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research's Satellite Applications Centre, at Hartbeeshoek, near Pretoria, for analysis and policy development purposes, says the department.
Space board
The DST reports that a shortlist of nominees has been drawn up for the board of the SA National Space Agency. Nominations from the public closed in May.
The agency was created earlier this year, after former president Kgalema Motlanthe signed the National Space Agency Act into law. Its mandate is to promote the peaceful use of space, foster research in space science and communications navigation, and promote international co-operation in space-related activities.
The board will oversee the agency, monitor research priorities and programmes, and carry out the agency's strategy. Of the 24 short-listed candidates, the majority are from government services, with seven from civil society and six from the military.
The board will comprise no more than 15 members and would have to be approved by science and technology minister Naledi Pandor.
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