Africa could soon boast its own space agency after the 53 member states of the African Union agreed on August 6 to launch a feasibility study.
A common space policy for the continent will also be drafted to unite its various space technology…
Africa could soon boast its own space agency after the 53 member states of the African Union agreed on August 6 to launch a feasibility study.
A common space policy for the continent will also be drafted to unite its various space technology initiatives.
Sarah Parkes, a spokeswoman for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN agency, told SatelliteFinance that the body has been asked to help draft the policy.
However, she said a timeframe had yet to be decided by the African Union.
Local reports claim the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, which was unavailable for comment, will also help draft policy.
Jonathan Mahlangu, a South Africa-based policy analyst, is cited in local news sources as saying a critical mass of experts needed to kick-start an African Space Agency already exists, with Africans currently working for NASA and Europe.
However, Peter Martinez, coordinator of South Africa’s National Working Group on Space Science and Technology, is cited as being less enthusiastic, arguing a number of African countries should first develop their own capabilities before forming a continental space agency.
Plans to bring an African Space Agency closer to reality follow the successful launch of the RASCOM-QAF1R communications satellite on August 4, which replaced an earlier spacecraft that suffered a helium leak soon after its launch in December 2007.
