South African National Space Agency

The South African National Space Agency provides for the promotion and use of space and cooperation in space-related activities, foster research in space science, advance scientific engineering through human capital and supports the creation of an environment conducive to industrial development in space technologies within the framework of national government policy. The intent is to converge and optimise resources and maximise the benefits of space services and applications to society. SANSA has six thematic programmes, namely Earth Observation, Space Operations, Space Science, Space Engineering, Human capital development and Science advancement. The Earth Observation programme focuses on the supply and exploitation of satellite imagery for societal benefit. The programme supports the key outcomes of government through the provision of satellite data, earth observation services and value-added geospatial datasets to enable planning and decision-making in government. Earth observation imagery is also increasingly finding wide applications in environmental issues such as global and climate change. The Space operations programme provides state-of-the-art ground station facility and infrastructure to local and international clients for telemetry, tracking and command services as well as in-orbit testing and mission control services. The Space science programme houses the bulk of the space physics research as well as the regional warning centre for space weather. This is critical for our understanding of our near space-Earth environment and the impact of the Sun on our earth technologies. The Space engineering programme leads the technical development of space systems and sub-systems by operating a national assembly, integration and test (AIT) facility and supplying related services locally and internationally. Training South Africans in key areas of national importance, developing scarce and transferable skills and contributing to transforming the country into a knowledge-based economy forms the basis for the Human Capital development programme and the Science outreach and advancement programme focuses on increasing the uptake and appreciation of science among our youth and improving the overall scientific literacy and engagement of the general public.