Julia Grey
SOUTH AFRICA can be counted among the top 10 countries worldwide in the field of space technology. But according to Dr Kelvin Kemm, a South African nuclear physicist, South African industry and politicians alike have a misconception of space technology as “fun and games entertainment” instead of “the absolute new frontier of profit”.
The practical uses of space technology are many. Koffi Kouakou, co-ordinator of the Programme on Enviromental Information Systems in sub-Saharan Africa (EIS), initiated by the World Bank, points out the environmental benefits of satellites. They provide information that allows us to predict disasters and to have a greater degree of environmental control.
The South African research team in the Antarctic is, says Kemm, contributing a lot to space knowledge, but not extracting commercial benefits. The team is doing much of its research into the portion of space between Earth and the moon, which affects the telecommunication satellites orbiting 36 000km above Earth.
The reward anticipated by South Africa is a place on the proposed international Mars station, which should be in place within a decade.
South Africa’s strong position in space technology is mainly due to the armaments industry – it is a relatively small step from manufacturing long-range missiles to making space rockets. A rocket launch planned for mid-1994, which was due to have the first major South African satellite, Greensat, on board, was scuppered due to American pressure.
But South Africa has continued to develop ground-breaking space technology. A micro- satellite, Sunsat, has been developed by Stellenbosch University and is due to be launched by Nasa next March. Jan Koekemoer, who is involved in the project, says the micro-satellite contains innovative technology, such as an imager that can take high-resolution pictures of earth. This technology has already been sold to Korea and Germany.
Kemm, who heads a technology strategy consultancy company, Stratek, in Pretoria, says that worldwide “South Africa is seen as a plum catch” by countries interested in developing partnerships in space programmes.
At present, there are a host of countries courting South Africa. One strong offer was made by Russia just 18 months ago, when discussions were held with Yuri Koptev, head of the Russian Space Agency. An alliance with South Africa would do much to strengthen Russia’s efforts to make its space programme commercially viable. However, South Africa took fright at the money involved – the cost per astronaut is quoted at $17-million.
Opportunities for space industry are, says Kemm, going to increase dramatically in the near future – and South Africa needs to take urgent steps to remain competitive. Within the next five years, Kemm foresees factories that orbit Earth, and others being built on the moon, or even on Mars. The sterile conditions in space, as well as zero gravity, make complicated material problems easier to solve, and will be particularly beneficial to manufacturing of products such as pharmaceuticals.