R400m for new SA satellite

The SA National Space Agency (SANSA) is initiating plans to develop the country's next satellite locally.

This comes after the Sumbandila satellite, which has been in space for about two years, developed several problems and is now no longer contactable from the ground station, because solar radiation damaged its on-board computer.

Speaking at the first briefing on SA hosting the 62nd International Astronautical Congress, SANSA CEO Sandile Malinga announced the plans, saying this new satellite will help SA catch up to its African counterparts.

“Currently, we are lagging behind some of our African counterparts. Recently, Nigeria launched two satellites. These were, however, not necessarily built in Nigeria. With good reason we have chosen to build our own satellites locally.”

He added that this will stimulate the local industry; reduce the current high-technology trade deficit; improve SA's global competitiveness; and create rare and needed skills and technologies that go beyond the space sector, including power and solar technology, system control technology, material technology, and optronics.

“It will inspire our youth and increase our national pride. Our path might be slow and full of risk, but the potential is huge and will distinguish SA on the continent.”

Malinga said if all goes according to plan, building of the new satellite will begin next year. There will be a three- to four-year development cycle, so the launch is expected around 2014 or 2015.

This satellite will have a finer resolution than Sumbandila and it will be built with redundancy, noted Malinga. “We have learned a lot from Sumbandila, so we will use modified designs and software.”

SumbandilaSat, as a prototype, has done very well, according to Malinga.

He added that in its two years in space, it collected in excess of 1 100 usable, cloud-free images. This translates to about three images per day.

“Imagery received from SumbandilaSat has been used effectively in a number of unique applications, such as the floods in Namibia and the earthquake in Japan.

“From its failures and the ingenious methods our engineers devised to mitigate these, we have gained a wealth of experience that will assist us in building our next operational satellite.”

Democratic Alliance shadow minister of science and technology Marian Shinn says the go-ahead for the next satellite will probably depend on whether government decides to buy the major share of micro-satellite company SunSpace.

Malinga confirmed that if the acquisition of SunSpace goes ahead, then it will build the new satellite.

“The decision we've taken as a country is to build our own satellites. We also believe there are other companies in the country that can lend a hand.”

The acquisition has been met with controversy as it has been seen as a waste of government funds.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has said the decision to acquire a stake in SunSpace should be finalised and presented to Cabinet before the end of October. The cost of the acquisition will also be made known to Cabinet at this time.

“What is odd is that it took a year between their decision in principle (February 2010) and confirmed Cabinet approval (March 2011) and then a further seven months (to October 2011) to make a decision on how much to pay for the share. What were they doing in the year to March 2011, if they weren't looking at the business case and cost price?” asks Shinn.

“If we are going to have a satellite build programme, the sooner we get on with it the better, because otherwise the skills will dissipate and it's unfair to keep SunSpace in a state of perpetual financial uncertainty.”

Shinn says her concern is the costs and how much of this the South African taxpayer will have to subsidise.

“The R400 million is relatively cheap for a robust earth-observation satellite. We must remember that SumbandilaSat was built with off-the shelf parts, and that there were cost compromises made as it was a learning experience. A more robust fully functioning satellite should cost a lot more than SumbandilaSat did.”

The shadow minister says if there is a sound business case that the satellite build programme will make money for the fiscus then there is no problem with it.

“But I have serious doubts that this will be the case. SA cannot pay its bills as it is. There are huge infrastructure backlogs and major developmental needs that have to be addressed just to keep SA functioning.

“We are one of the most highly-taxed nations on earth. We need to be very cautious about creating black holes for taxpayers' money just to prove that we have the skills to ride with the boys.”

Sumbandila's construction cost was R11 million.

However, Malinga said there were add-on costs of training, the launch and other factors that made this figure rise.

“My estimation is that it is probably less than R100 million.”

The satellite has not been contactable since August, but SANSA has not given up hope.

“We still hope to make contact, but at some point we will have to make a decision on Sumbandila if no contact can be made.”

The CEO said he will have to check with the technical team if there is a de-orbit capabiltiy.