 SANSA logo | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 9 December 2010; 14 years ago (2010-12-09) |
| Type | Space Agency |
| Jurisdiction | South African Government |
| Headquarters | Pretoria |
| Employees |
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| Agency executives |
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| Parent department | Department of Science and Innovation |
| Website | www |
TheSouth African National Space Agency (SANSA) isSouth Africa's government agency responsible for the promotion and development ofaeronautics andaerospace space research. It fosters cooperation in space-related activities and research inspace science, seeks to advance scientific engineering throughhuman capital, as well as the peaceful use ofouter space, and supports the creation of an environment conducive to the industrial development of space technologies within the framework of national government.[2]
SANSA was established on 9 December 2010 by theNational Space Agency Act.[3]
Currently, SANSA's main focusses include using data obtained fromremote sensing through satellites and other projects to provide assessment onflooding, fires, resource management and environmental phenomena in South Africa and the African continent.[4][5][6]
SANSA was formed after an act ofparliament was passed by acting PresidentKgalema Motlanthe in 2009. The agency was formed with the intent of consolidating space-related research, projects and research in South Africa and to assume the role as a regional centre for space research in Africa.
Throughout the 1950s to 1970s lunar and interplanetary missions conducted byNASA had been supported from a tracking station atHartebeesthoek where the first images of Mars were received from theMariner IV spacecraft in the first successfulflyby of the planet.[7] Other South African facilities also assisted in tracking satellites to determine the effects of theupper atmosphere on theirorbits.[7]
In 1980s work on the development of a launcher and a satellite had been in progress but was discontinued after 1994. In 1999, South Africa launched its first satellite,SUNSAT fromVandenberg Air Force Base in the US. A second satellite,SumbandilaSat, was launched from theBaikonur Cosmodrome inKazakhstan in 2009.[8]
SANSA's mission is to use space science and technology to:
SANSA is a key contributor to the South African Earth Observation Strategy (SAEOS), for which the primary objective is "to coordinate the collection, assimilation and dissemination of Earth observation data, so that their full potential to support policy, decision-making, economic growth and sustainable development in South Africa can be realised."
SANSA will provide space-based data platforms that focus on in-situ Earth observation measurements in collaboration with entities such as theSouth African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON).
SANSA Space Science is host to the only Space Weather[9] Regional Warning Centre in Africa, which operates as part of the International Space Environment Service (ISES). The Space Weather Centre provides an important service to the nation by monitoring the sun and its activity to provide information, early warnings and forecasts on space weather conditions. The space weather products and services are required primarily for communication and navigation systems, in the defence, aeronautics, navigation and communication sectors.
Media related toSouth African National Space Agency at Wikimedia Commons
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