Exploring International Space Cooperation

　　South Africa is known to many Chinese as acountry with ample natural resources such as diamondsand gold, but it also has much to offer in the space arena.The country demonstrated its latest space technologyat the National Pavilion for the South African SpaceArena at the 64th International Astronautical Congress(IAC) held in Beijing from September 23 to 27.

　　South Africa is among the leading space and aeronauticsnations on the African continent, accordingto Rosemary Mashaba, South Africa’s Deputy Ambassadorto China. “We have a variety of institutions andprograms, which have extensive competencies in thesatellite engineering, space exploration, aero structures,avionics and utilization of applications for socio-economicbenefits,” she said.

　　Seven South African space sector participantsincluding affiliated governmental departments, sciencecouncils, academia and companies took part in thedemonstration. Their participation was an initiative ofSouth Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

　　“We hope this event will provide a good opportunityto exhibit their capabilities and enable engagementswith the international space community, which couldforge relationships in areas of space engineering, scienceand other related beneficial spheres,” said NomfunekoMajaja, Chief Director of DTI’s Advanced ManufacturingAerospace and Defense Electrotechnical.

　　More cooperation

　　The country’s major milestone in the developmentof the national space program is its participation in an internationalproject called Square Kilometer Array (SKA),in which thousands of linked radio-wave receptors willbe positioned in Africa and Australia in hopes of clarifyingsome as-of-yet unanswered questions about theuniverse, according to Carla Sharpe, Business DevelopmentManager of SKA South Africa.

　　“Projects like this are very important in developingour skills and human capacity and developing our abilityto cooperate with other global partners. The program isalso driving forward the technology and the economy ofits partner countries,” Sharpe said.

　　Currently, South Africa has joined the ranks ofemerging aerospace nations and reached a critical stagein the development of space capabilities, said Dr. PeterMartinez, Chairperson of the South African Council forSpace Affairs. “We hope to cooperate with China in thefields of earth observation, space operations, satellitemanufacturing, space engineering and human capitaldevelopment,” he said.

　　Echoing Martinez, Majaja added that cooperationwith China in skill and technology development andtransfer would help develop South Africa’s indigenousspace capabilities.

　　Several South African research institutions andcompanies joined the exhibition and hoped to attractpotential partners in joint research and development.“While the space domain is a new frontier for the Africancontinent, the time is right to market South Africa’sstrong engineering capability and our culture of cooperationinternationally,” said Berthold Alheit, GeneralManager of Denel Spaceteq, part of South Africa’s DenelDynamics Co. “Our capabilities can be applied to theadvancement of solving difficult and large engineeringproblems in the space arena.”

　　The benefit of the space industry is far reaching, andit has a much broader national technological benefit.

　　“Satellite technology is a catalyst for so many othertechnologies. While practicing space engineering, youcreate other technologies that can be applied anywhere,”said Professor Robert van Zyl, Director of theFrench South African Institute of Technology at CapeTown-based Cape Peninsula University of Technology.“The space industry drives the need for innovation,which is important for economic growth, andkeeps our country abreast of other countries,” Sharpesaid.