Profiles in leadership
South African National Space Agency Chief Executive Officer Dr Valanathan Munsami explains how satellites contribute to development
Many South Africans don't give a second thought to the satellites positioned thousands of kilometres away from the Earth, let alone the vital role they play in our daily lives.
But if you ask South African National Space Agency (SANSA) Chief Executive Officer Dr Valanathan Munsami, he'll tell you that without satellites, development would be almost impossible.
SANSA reports to the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and it forms part of the worldwide network of magnetic observatories. It is responsible for research, infrastructure and data for monitoring the near-Earth space environment. In simple terms, the
agency mainly works with satellites.
The scope of SANSA's space science activities includes fundamental and applied space physics research, post-graduate student training, science advancement, space weather monitoring and the provision of geomagnetic fieldrelated services on a commercial and private basis.
Geomagnetic field refers to the magnetic field that extends from the Earth's interior out into space, where it meets the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating from the sun. SANSA offers services to clients who work within this field, such as pilots or satellite owners.This includes the training of Air Force pilots and navy personnel.
The view beyond
“You and I can see in a visible spectrum, but there are parts of the spectrum that we cannot see… but the satellite has that capability to see beyond what we can see,” said Dr Munsami.
“Satellites take images through what is called Geographic Information Systems (GIS) which is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth's surface.
“GIS can show many different kinds of data on one map, such as streets, buildings, and vegetation. This enables people to more easily see, analyse, and understand patterns and relationships,” he said.
Due to satellites, weather conditions can be predicted and people are able to prepare themselves accordingly. In addition, waterborne diseases can be picked up; borders and shores surveillance is possible, municipalities can better plan their towns and manage infrastructure development and signals can be provided to
aircraft.The list is almost endless.
“Key programmes that SANSA focuses on include environmental resource management, land management, hydrological issues, urbanisation issues, and issues in the health and security sectors.
“All government departments make use of the GIS; which works with SANSA to work on the information provided by satellites,” he added.
Understanding space operations
The role played by space sciences in the economy is either taken for granted or misunderstood, according to Dr Munsami.
He is hopeful that one day investors and people on the ground will start to appreciate the work done through satellite operations.
The space industry is worth about $300 billion a year globally and South Africa is planning to tap into this sector.
In 2010 Cabinet approved the National Space Strategy which was developed as an implementing framework for a national space programme. In connection with the strategy, SANSA proposed that about R1.5 billion be allocated for space science in 2012, and that the budget be increased to R2 billion by 2017.
The Parliamentary grant SANSA receives through the DST is now just above R130 million, far short of the original plan.
“We are nowhere near the R2 billion that we need and it is probably going to get worse because of the recent down grading by the rating agencies. Now there is pressure on government departments to spend less and that could lead to budgetary constraints as well,” he stressed.
“It is going to take time for us to reach our full capacity because there are so many priorities in our country and budget seems to be the main stumbling block,” said Dr Munsami.
The grant the agency receives amounts to half of its operational costs so it generates additional revenue by providing services to international clients.
“For example, when the United States or a country in Europe is launching a rocket, that rocket comes over Africa and they lose sight of it and rely on South African satellites to keep track of it and send the information gathered back to the relevant country,” he explained
Return on investment
South Africa launched its first satellite almost 20 years ago. The miniaturised satellite called the Stellenbosch University Satellite was launched from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on 23 February 1999.
“This was the university's initiative and it had more than 70 postgraduate students involved in building the satellite. The students worked on different components.
“When we built the first satellite, the return on investment on the rand basis was around R6 and R7 for every R1 invested. This was because a lot of technologies that were developed were then sold to the internationals; a lot of reaction units and the imagery were sold to certain countries.
“So as a norm, the return on investment should be anywhere between R4 and R8 to every R1 invested. We are also aware that the satellite industry is growing at the rate of between five and eight percent a year, globally,” said Dr Munsami.
Through its space engineering unit, SANSA plans to build its own satellite and is contracting some industry players in this regard.
“We are building a satellite, which will weigh about 450 kilogrammes. It is expected to be launched around 2019/20. It will be an optical satellite that will provide imagery,” he said.
“We spend between R5 billion to R7 billion a year renting transponder space from foreign satellites. If we had to build our own satellite, it would cost between R4 billion and R6 billion but the point is that when you build a satellite, it lasts for about 15 years. It makes sense to build our own satellite and keep the money inside the country.The return on investment becomes 10fold,” he explained.