X-band antenna, CSIR Satellite Application Centre
25 March 2009
Ladies and gentlemen
Less than three weeks ago, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) launched its Kepler Satellite to search the Milky Way for earth-like
planets capable of supporting life. The spacecraft is equipped with the biggest
telescope ever to be launched into space, and will spend the next three and a
half years monitoring more than 100 000 stars in a patch of star-rich sky near
the Cygnus and Lyra constellations.
The leader of the mission said: "Everything about the mission is optimised
to find earth-size planets with the potential for life, to help us answer the
question â are the earths bountiful or is our planet unique?"
We wish the Kepler project and its controllers the best of luck, and are
confident that their search will make a very valuable contribution to science.
But, what if our earth is one of a kind? What if our galaxy has no alternative
accommodation for humankind? Will this realisation make us pay more attention
to the proper care of our planet?
South Africans share the global custodianship of the earth. We are
specifically responsible for the upkeep of a particularly beautiful part of it,
and today we are here to celebrate a new tool that will help us carry out our
duty more effectively.
When a handsome man goes out to meet a date, he checks his appearance in a
mirror. But when a good looking country like South Africa needs to check her
appearance, she looks at a computer linked to a satellite.
What we see on the computer screen depends on several factors, the position
and capacity of the satellite; the strength of the signal; and the power,
coverage and design of the antenna. It is our new antenna that is the cause of
today's excitement. It will allow us to study our national appearance and
behaviour in a detail never before possible, another feather in the cap of the
CSIR Satellite Applications Centre and its telemetry, tracking and command
services.
The work of the CSIR Satellite Applications Centre started with the support
it provided to NASA in 1960. Next year we will celebrate the 50th anniversary
of this productive partnership.
Back in October 2006, the CSIR entered an agreement with the French company
SPOT Image to receive imagery from the SPOT satellite constellation under a
multi-government licence agreement. This paved the way for more affordable
business models for government, and forced single image prices down to more
acceptable levels. The distribution of SPOT imagery from national to local
government level, academia and research institutions over the past three years
has been of unprecedented value for South Africa as a nation.
Also in 2006, my department and the CSIR combined forces to chair the
Committee on Earth Observation Satellites for a year, from November 2007 to
November 2008. This enabled South Africa to develop and establish a data
democracy policy for Africa, and ensured the dissemination of free satellite
data to Africa.
In November 2007, the department delegated the implementation of the South
African Earth Observation Strategy to the CSIR Satellite Applications
Centre.
In January this year, the President signed the South African National Space
Agency (SANSA) Bill into law, which enables the establishment of South Africa's
own space agency. We anticipate this agency to stimulate the country's
capabilities in the innovative utilisation of space science and technology.
Earlier this month, South Africa's National Space Policy was launched by my
colleague, the Trade and Industry Minister, Mandisi Mpahlwa, which gives
direction to the country's space agenda through a unified and co-ordinated
space policy.
There are many agendas for space, but none is more important to the South
African cause than the task of looking after our own country and monitoring its
progress. In this endeavour, satellites are the key, and the CSIRs highly
successful Satellite Applications Centre is at the forefront of this critical
effort.
Today we are celebrating the introduction of the new 7,3 metre X-band
antenna, another milestone on the road to increasing knowledge about our
country.
The more we know about ourselves, and the better our earth-observation data,
the better our policy decisions can be. This will lead to more predictable
economic growth and more sustainable development. The monitoring and evaluation
of our planet and our country, enabled through remote sensing and its science,
has become a foundation for these judgements. Geo-information helps us
understand and measure the behaviour of various land cover and land use
characteristics.
Earth observation will become one of the central pillars of the new South
African National Space Agency, and we all expect that SANSA will motivate a
further expansion of South Africa's satellite engineering and applications
know-how. Our goal is to make South Africa a global player in the earth
observation satellite domain, and this includes ongoing participation in
initiatives such as Global Monitoring for Environment and Security, the Group
on earth Observation (GEO), African Resource and Environment Management, the
International Disaster Charter, and others.
The X-band antenna is a welcome addition to the equipment we have to achieve
these objectives. It was obtained specifically to streamline the acquisition of
earth observation data, and to alleviate the pressures caused by the
spectacular growth in this field of science in South Africa.
The antenna specifications mean that it will be able to satisfy the
requirements for sensors which, it is envisaged, will be added in the future.
This is far-sighted thinking, but more importantly, we will now be able, not
only to enjoy more frequent acquisition of the SPOT 5 earth-observation data
that government has sponsored, but also access data which is freely available
through agreements with our international partners, for example:
* The China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite
* SAC-C â an international co-operative mission between NASA, the Argentine
Commission on Space Activities, the French Space Agency, the Brazilian Space
Agency, the Danish Space Research Institute, and the Italian Space
Agency),
* The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, CEOS, which makes a vital
contribution to the nine societal benefit areas identified by the
intergovernmental group on earth observations.
I am very proud to report that during the year South Africa chaired CEOS,
the CSIRs efforts greatly elevated South Africa's role in promoting data
democracy, as part of our broader commitment to GEO.
More satellite excitement lies ahead. The launch of SumbandilaSat, our
second indigenous satellite, is not too far off now.
I am pleased to take this opportunity to congratulate the CSIR on the new
X-band antenna, which is another bold and proactive step in support of the
South African Earth Observation Strategy and the broader space initiatives that
are so important for our country.
We need to take care of our planet and its people. We need to take care of
our country and its people. We have an obligation to do what we can to ensure
that our neighbouring countries are taken care of. We can do all of this better
if we are able to monitor, clearly and consistently, changes that are taking
place, and the opportunities and challenges that emerge. The X-band antenna
will help us do exactly that, and I congratulate everyone involved.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
25 March 2009
Source: Department of Science and Technology (http://www.dst.gov.za)
