The South African delegation at the BRICS meeting in Haikou, China, (back row) Amal Khatri (Sansa), Val Munsami (Sansa), Duncan Stanton (Space Commercial Services), Elliot Sibeko (Department of Telcommunications and Postal Services), Willie Nel (CSIR), James Barrington Brown (NewSpace). (Front row) Humbulani Mudau (DST), Simpiwe Mkwelo (CSIR), Fikiswa Majola (DST), Cyril Khuzwayo (Denel SpaceTeq). PHOTO: Supplied by Sansa
The South African National Space Agency (Sansa), an entity of the department of science and innovation, has been awarded R4.47 billion in additional funding over the next three years to develop a space infrastructure hub as part of the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium initiative.
“The space infrastructure hub marks a significant milestone for the South African space sector to build an indigenous space capability that will service the needs of the country,” said Sansa chief executive Dr Val Munsami.
“This project will position space data as a tool for sustainable development, especially addressing government’s national priorities and for commercial use in thematic areas such as remote sensing, navigation and space sciences.”
Digital infrastructure investment is ranked as high priority due to the world’s ever-increasing dependency on technological systems which rely on space infrastructure such as satellites and ground stations.
Daily weather forecasts, instantaneous worldwide communications, navigation systems and a constant ability to record high-resolution images are examples of space infrastructure that are extensively utilised.
Even basic commodities, such as food and energy resources are facilitated through the use of space-based technology.
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