Honourable Chairperson: South Africa's space industry is thriving - this is the message relayed to the public by professionals in the sector at a recent media briefing in Cape Town. The event also commemorated humankind's first foray into space 50 years ago, when Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin spent 108 minutes looking at a view of the earth that nobody had experienced before. At a general assembly earlier in 2011, the UN declared 12 April as the International Day of Human Space Flight. Read more... The National Empowerment Fund (NEF) has invested R50-million in South African satellite systems manufacturer SunSpace and Information Systems (SunSpace), to allow it to increase its capacity and improve its competitiveness in the aerospace market. SunSpace is the builder of the Sumbandilasat microsatellite that is scheduled for launching from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan later this year. Read more The Democratic Alliance (DA) has apologised for its criticism of SunSpace and the SumbandilaSat satellite project. Last week, the party's shadow minister for science and technology, Marian Shinn, attacked the department of science & technology for its proposed investment in SumbandilaSat's builder, SunSpace, which was approved by cabinet earlier this year. Read more...
Address by Minister Naledi Pandor, opening the Department of Science and Technology's Budget Vote Debate
Honourable Members and guests in the gallery
Our debate today will report on the progress we are making with our key strategic priorities, signal new directions and hopefully persuade Parliament and South Africa that science and technology sectors hold great promise for our development ambitions and need to be given far more attention and support than they currently receive. Read more...
Space science thriving in South Africa
NEF buys into SunSpace
DA backpedals on SunSpace criticism