S Africa launches new 24-hour regional space weather centre

South Africa has launched a new 24-hour, state-of-the-art regional space weather centre after the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) selected the country's national space agency as one of the two regional centres to provide space weather services, including solar storm forecasts and warnings to the global aviation sector.

Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Blade Nzimande said at the launch of the centre in the coastal town of Hermanus in Western Cape province that it was a historic development that further illustrated "the excellence we have in science as South Africa." "South African National Space Agency's (SANSA) mandate is to provide for the promotion and use of space and cooperation in space-related activities, foster research in space science, advance scientific engineering, develop human capabilities in space science, and support the creation of an environment conducive to industrial development in space technologies within the framework of national government policy.

"It is therefore expected that SANSA should focus and optimise its resources to maximise the benefits of space services and applications in society," Nzimande said.

The minister said the establishment of SANSA was strategically important for contributing towards trans-national and planetary scale cooperation and collaborations to ensure the sustainability and prosperity of global humanity.

"It is in this context where our strategic collaboration with bilateral and multilateral agencies is absolutely crucial," Nzimande said as he recalled how a decade ago several organisations were working in isolation on various space-related products and services before being rationalised into SANSA's four strategic programmes – Space Science, Space Operations, Space Engineering and Earth Observation.

"Through SANSA, we now have managed to improve coordination of South Africa's space arena to maximise the benefits of current and planned space activities, avoid or minimise duplication of resources and efforts, and organise existing initiatives, programmes, and institutions into a coherent network for all providers and users of space systems," Nzimande said. The establishment of the new Space Weather Centre took three years after it was first conceptualised in 2019 at a cost of South African Rand 107.5 million (USD 6.7 million).

"Through SANSA's researchers, South Africa has a growing international footprint and impact on new research within the space sector," Nzimande said.

He highlighted how three SANSA researchers had made the first-ever estimate of the power dissipated by a medium-scale travelling ionospheric disturbance.

"SANSA also has a role in international space cooperation. For example, we are currently negotiating with NASA for the establishment of a tracking and telemetry station in Matjiesfontein in support of future lunar exploration on the Moon.

"Space science is a global industry and SANSA has extensive partnerships with space agencies and organisations across the world through which it has provided numerous opportunities for the local space industry and academia," the minister concluded.

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