SOUTH AFRICA'S SPACE JOURNEY: STORIES FROM YESTERDAY AND DECISIONS FOR TOMORROW

摘要

South Africa is celebrating an exciting rebirth in its space journey with the founding of a nationalspace agency and the hosting of the 2011 International Astronautical Congress. This paperreports on the results of extensive field work in Cape Town and Pretoria during October andNovember 2010. The field work explored historic and current issues in South Africa's spaceactivity, especially with regard to satellite technology. From a historic perspective, the paperexamines what made it possible for South Africans to develop and operate Africa's firstindigenous satellite. The study considers the role of international collaboration and contributionsfrom players in government, industry and academia. The paper closes with a discussion on thenew institutional infrastructure that South Africa is establishing to lead national space activity.