SANSA - South African National Space Agency launched

South Africa launched its space agency last Thursday on what has been described as a historic day for the country. Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor and experts from the space agencies of other countries Thursday attended the launch of the South African Space Agency (SANSA).


South Africa now joins a select group of countries that boast having a space agency, the state-run BuaNews agency reported. Outlining SANSA's role, the minister said it will implement a national space programme and advise her on the subject.

It will have the responsibility of acquiring, assimilating and distributing space data to various state entities.

Pandor said the national space strategy will promote research in the areas of astronomy, earth observation, communications, navigation and space physics. The strategy will foster international cooperation in space-related activities, and advance scientific, engineering and technological competencies through outreach programmes.

Emphasis would be placed on encouraging space science research and development, she added.

She said the space industry is a big business and went beyond just space travel. It is an industry with enormous potential future growth. Over the next five years, South Africa intends to develop a formal space programme.

'Our combined efforts at enhancing South Africa's space capabilities will not only be of immense value to the scientific community in the southern African region. It will also assist in addressing the persistent challenges of health care provision, water resources, agricultural mapping, and urban planning and communications,' she said.

She announced further plans aimed at strengthening the space sector, which included setting up a Centre of Competence in Optronics and Synthetic Aperture Radar.

Space science has contributed significantly in the sustainable development of the African continent and SANSA will help play a role in this regard, the minister added.

Chair of the SANSA board, Maurice Magugumela, said SANSA has ushered in a new era in the science and technology landscape in South Africa and the continent.

Pandor signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) relating to data access with the representatives of the Brazilian and Chinese governments.

Neil Armstrong critical of Obama's Space Advisers

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, said Wednesday that President Barack Obama is "poorly advised" on space matters, renewing criticism of a plan to abandon a project to return US astronauts to the moon.

Appearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Armstrong said the Obama plan to end the Constellation program and cut other space efforts appeared to be made without input from NASA or the president's science adviser.

"I have yet to find a person in NASA, the Defense Department, the Air Force, the National Academies, industry, or academia that had any knowledge of the plan prior to its announcement," the Apollo 11 commander told lawmakers.

"A plan that was invisible to so many was likely contrived by a very small group in secret who persuaded the president that this was a unique opportunity to put his stamp on a new and innovative program."

Armstrong, the first to set foot on the lunar surface in his 1969 mission, said the United States "has invested substantially for more than half a century to acquire a position of leadership in space" but that "to maintain a leadership position requires steadfast determination and a continuing investment in the future."

He added, "If the leadership we have acquired through our investment is allowed simply to fade away, other nations will surely step in where we have faltered. I do not believe that this would be in our best interests."

A month ago, Armstrong signed an open letter to Obama criticizing cuts to the space program.

Armstrong and fellow Apollo program commanders James Lovell and Eugene Cernan said in that letter that the plan "destines our nation to become one of second or even third rate stature."

In April, Obama announced plans to send US astronauts into the orbit of Mars within the next three decades but declined to back down on his plan to scrap the bloated and behind-schedule Constellation program.