Page 64 - SAMENA Trends - January 2022

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South Africa Makes Plans to Launch Communication Satellites

The South African government is fast-
tracking plans to develop local satellites
for connectivity and tracking. This is
according to the Nation’s Communications
and Digital Technologies Minister,
Khumbudzo Ntshaveni. Addressing a
technology conference, Ntshaveni said
the department is considering ways to
condense the satellite program. Typically,
the program would take between eight
and ten years to develop. According to
her, the revised program could be ready
to launch in just three to four years. The
minister said that this will depend on
funding, with the government hopeful
that telecommunications and mining
companies will help co-fund the project.
Furthermore, Ntshavheni has stated that geostationary telecommunications “The satellite would create an enabling
they are targeting the financial year’s satellite. The commission noted that environment that opens opportunities for
end to finalize the revised proposal. She it would offer its services to the entire a shared economy that would empower
noted that they had started engaging with Southern African Development Community all Africans to change their material social
industries and satellite technology users (SADC) region. The SADC includes conditions and alleviate poverty, inequality
to discuss pulling resources together. “We Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and and youth unemployment. We would create
already have, as a country, capacity through Zimbabwe, Alongside South Africa The much-needed redundancy by large global
the space-tech to manage satellites. commission also noted that the satellite enterprises,” it said. The commission also
There are satellites that at a particular would provide free and quality connectivity expressed that the geostationary satellite
level or orbit level, their management is for marginalized communities in the SADC would also add value in setting up an
done from South Africa, so we’ve got that region. This would enable them to access African central exchange for voice, data and
capacity so we can go all the way and own 4IR applications, especially for smart other communication media – and enable
a satellite,” says Ntshavheni Additionally, health, smart learning services. It would smart contracts for the African Continental
a President Cyril Ramaphosa-established also allow access to smart ammunition, Free Trade Agreements (AfCFTA)
commission had previously recommended smart minerals, smart agriculture, smart
that government build and launch a contracts and smart financial services.

China Launches New

Communication Tech-

nology Experiment
Satellite

China successfully sent a new
communication technology experiment
satellite into space from the Xichang
Satellite Launch Center in southwest
China's Sichuan Province. The satellite
was launched by a Long March-3B carrier
rocket at 0:43 a.m. (Beijing Time) and has
entered the planned orbit. The launch
marked the 405th mission of Long March
series carrier rockets.

64 JANUARY 2022