Space Fostering African Societies: Developing the African Continent Through Space, Part 3

120 Pages·2021·3.246 MB·English

by  Annette Froehlich

Southern Space Studies
Series Editor: Annette Froehlich
Annette Froehlich   Editor
Space
Fostering
African
Societies
Developing the African Continent
Through Space, Part 3
Southern Space Studies
SeriesEditor
AnnetteFroehlich ,UniversityofCapeTown,Rondebosch,SouthAfrica
AssociateEditor
DirkHeinzmann,BundeswehrCommandandStaffCollege,Hamburg,Germany
AdvisoryEditors
JosefAschbacher,EuropeanSpaceAgency,Paris,France
RigobertBayala,NationalObservatoryofSustainableDevelopment,Ouagadougou,
BurkinaFaso
CarlosCaballeroLeón,PeruvianSpaceAgency,Lima,Peru
GuyConsolmagno,VaticanObservatory,CastelGandolfo,VaticanCityState
JuandeDalmau,InternationalSpaceUniversity,Illkirch-Graffenstaden,France
DrissElHadani,RoyalCenterforRemoteSensingofMorocco,Rabat,Morocco
ElHadiGashut,RegionalCenterForRemoteSensingofNorthAfricaStates,Tunis,Tunisia
MichelleHanlon,ForAllMoonkind,NewCanaan,CT,USA
FélixClementinoMenicocci,ArgentineanMinistryofForeignAffairs,BuenosAires,
Argentina
SiasMostert,AfricanAssociationofRemoteSensingoftheEnvironment,Muizenburg,
SouthAfrica
ValMunsami,SouthAfricanNationalSpaceAgency,Silverton,SouthAfrica
GregOlsen,Entrepreneur-Astronaut,Princeton,NJ,USA
AzzedineOussedik,AlgerianSpaceAgency,Alger,Algeria
XavierPasco,FondationpourlaRechercheStratégique,Paris,France
ElviraPradoAlegre,Ibero-AmericanInstituteofAirandSpaceLawandCommercial
Aviation,Madrid,Spain
AlejandroJ.RománM.,ParaguayanSpaceAgency,Asunción,Paraguay
FermínRomeroVázquez,FundacionAcercandotealUniverso,MexicoCity,Mexico
Kai-UweSchrogl,InternationalInstituteofSpaceLaw,Paris,France
DominiqueTilmans,YouSpace,Wellin,Belgium
Jean-JacquesTortora,EuropeanSpacePolicyInstitute,Vienna,Austria
RobertvanZyl,CapePeninsulaUniversityofTechnology,Bellville,SouthAfrica
The Southern Space Studies series presents analyses of space trends, market
evolutions,policies,strategiesandregulations,aswellastherelatedsocial,economic
and political challenges of space-related activities in the Global South, with a
particular focus on developing countries in Africa and Latin America. Obtaining
insideinformationfromemergingspace-faringcountriesintheseregionsispivotalto
establishandstrengthenefficientandbeneficialcooperationmechanismsinthespace
arena,andtogainadeeperunderstandingoftheirrapidlyevolvingspaceactivities.To
thisend,theseriesprovidestransdisciplinaryinformationforafruitfuldevelopment
ofspaceactivitiesinrelevantcountriesandcooperationwithestablishedspace-faring
nations.Itis,therefore,areferencecompilationforspaceactivitiesintheseareas.
Thevolumesoftheseriesarepeer-reviewed.
Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttps://link.springer.com/bookseries/16025
Annette Froehlich
Editor
Space Fostering African
Societies
Developing the African Continent
Through Space, Part 3
Editor
AnnetteFroehlich
SpaceLab
UniversityofCapeTown
Rondebosch,SouthAfrica
ISSN2523-3718 ISSN2523-3726 (electronic)
SouthernSpaceStudies
ISBN978-3-030-89886-1 ISBN978-3-030-89887-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89887-8
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Contents
SouthAfrica’sPlaceinSpace:TowardsaNewSpaceRegulatory
Framework ............................................................... 1
Jaymion Hendricks
PropellantFeedAssemblyDesignforaPressure-Fed1kNLiquid
PropellantRocketEngineTestPlatform .................................. 25
Nicolas Ringas
Supporting and Enhancing Access to Earth Observation Data
ontheAfricanContinent ................................................. 47
Anne-Sophie Martin
LeveragingthePowerofPortableSoftwareDefinedRadioGround
Stations ................................................................... 59
Barbara Ojur
v
South Africa’s Place in Space:
Towards a New Space Regulatory
Framework
Jaymion Hendricks
ABSTRACT
The African space sector is growing as the socio-economic dividends of space
exploration become more apparent to African governments. The COVID-19
pandemic continues to unveil the utility of space applications which are sup-
porting governments’ responses to curbing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Space applications have assisted African governments to mitigate the devas-
tating social and economic impact on the most vulnerable citizens - often
located in remote areas. With advancements in the continental space sector,
more African governments will seek to review their existing legislation or will
opttodraftnewnationalspacelegislationinordertocreateregulatorycertainty
for commercial and academic space actors, while ensuring that national space
activities are undertaken in compliance with international law. Soft-law instru-
ments provide further impetus for states to enact national space legislation and
provide a good basis from which states can draw best practice. South Africa
is currently in the process of drafting a new national space law, which seeks
to cater for developments in international law and in its domestic space indus-
try. The legislation could become a model law on the African continent and
its review process could provide many insights for jurisdictions that are con-
sidering a similar review or drafting process. The new legislation will include
a number of provisions that are not contained in its current legislation, the
SpaceAffairsAct, No. 84 of 1993, as amended. It is anticipated that the Outer
SpaceBill will be finalised within two years. Its finalisation will present a new
epochinSouthAfrica’sspaceregulatoryframeworkandwillpositionitamong
countries with progressive national space legislation. The review being under-
takenwillenableSouthAfricatocraftamodelnationalspacelegislation,which
adequately balances its international law obligations against its objectives to
B
J.Hendricks( )
TheHague,Zuid-Holland,TheNetherlands
e-mail:[email protected]
©TheAuthor(s),underexclusivelicensetoSpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2022 1
A.Froehlich(ed.),SpaceFosteringAfricanSocieties,SouthernSpaceStudies,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89887-8_1
2 J.Hendricks
create a vibrant, competitive domestic industry. This chapter unpacks some of
the developments on the African continent in relation to space frameworks, the
impact of COVID-19 on African space affairs, and the key changes to South
Africa’s space regulatory framework.
1 Introduction
It is estimated that the African space economy is in the region of U.S. $7 bil-
lion and that it will grow by 7.3% annually, exceeding U.S. $10 billion by 2024.1
African governments have increased their national space program operating bud-
getsfromU.S.$250millionin2019,toU.S.$490millionin2020—representinga
twofold increase.2 This demonstrates that a number of African countries are cap-
italising on the vast economic potential of the space economy, primarily in the
applicationofspacetechnology.Inthepastyearsapproximately30satelliteswere
launched for African countries, demonstrating the active role which the continent
is playing in the international space community.3
As space technologies advance and burgeoning domestic space industries take
off, more African countries will seek to update or draft new national space leg-
islation to cater for these developments which continue to be driven by private
andacademicspaceactors.Countrieswillhavetobalancetheirinternationalobli-
gations relative to the main UN outer space treaties against the temptation to
implement or maintain weak regulatory frameworks for competitive purposes in
order to create an enabling domestic space sector.
South Africa is in the process of reviewing its primary national space legisla-
tion, the Space Affairs Act, No. 84, 1993, as amended (“Space Affairs Act/1993
Act”). The Space Affairs Act will be repealed and replaced by a new Outer
Space Act, which is set to cater for advances that were not contemplated in the
1993 Act. The aim is also for the new legislation to reflect South Africa’s space
policy priorities, developments in space governance and to reflect the country’s
obligations under the main UN outer space treaties. Importantly, drafting a new
legislationalsoprovidesanopportunitytofactortheactiveroleplayedby(domes-
tic and international) commercial and academic space actors in South Africa’s
space industry.4
1African Space Industry Annual Report 2019 Edition, “Space in Africa”, 2019, https://africa
news.space/product/african-space-industry-annual-report-2019-edition/.(Allwebsitescitedinthis
publicationwerelastaccessedandverifiedon7February2021).
2African Space Industry Report 2020 Edition, Space in Africa, http://satellitemarkets.com/mar
ket-trends/annual-2020african-space-industry-report-released#:~:text=Over%20US%20%244%
20billion%20has,excluding%20budget%20for%20satellite%20acquisition.
3AnnetteFroehlich,“Africa’sEmergingSatelliteActivitiesandtheRegistrationofitsSatellites”
inA.Froehlich(ed.)SpaceFosteringAfricanSocieties,SouthernSpaceStudies,(Cham:Springer,
2021),169.http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59158-8_10.
4ParliamentaryCommitteeMeeting,12May2015,https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/20827/.
SouthAfrica’sPlaceinSpace:TowardsaNewSpace… 3
Therefore, South Africa serves as a case study, as it is a relatively experienced
space actor which has opted to draft a new national space legislation. It is hoped
that the legislation will become a model law on the African continent; one which
includes developments in international space law (soft law instruments in partic-
ular) while balancing the need to create an enabling, competitive domestic space
industry. This chapter unpacks some of the key provisions of the current Space
AffairsAct which will likely change once a new national space law is enacted.
2 The African Context
Space exploration has the potential to create a new value chain for many African
economies.Developingcountriesareonaquesttotransformtheireconomiesfrom
over reliance on resource extraction, to knowledge-based economies. Moreover,
space technology presents many societal benefits for African nations, as remote
earth sensing plays an important role in the agricultural sector, natural disaster
planningandrelief,andinresourcemanagement.5 Thisenablescountriestoassess
thequantityandexploitationofnaturalresources,toserviceruralcommunitiesand
informs spatial planning.
In his annual Budget Speech on 26 February 2020, South Africa’s Minister of
Finance,MrTitoMboweni,statedthatfundingfromtheAfricanRenaissanceFund
could be utilised to establish the Pan African University for Space Studies, to be
housed at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.6 This commitment was
madeinthecontextofSouthAfrica’sChairshipoftheAfricanUnionduring2020
and affirms its efforts to propel this segment of the continent’s knowledge sector.
The 2020 Edition of the Africa in Space Annual Report indicates that 19
African countries have began establishing national space programmes which con-
tinue to be supported by underlying policies, legislation, and the adoption of the
main UN outer space treaties.7 Equally, 19 African countries have ratified the
TreatyonPrinciplesGoverningtheActivitiesofStatesintheExplorationandUse
ofOuterSpace,includingtheMoonandOtherCelestialBodies (OST),8 while 10
African countries are signatories, but have not yet ratified the treaty.9 In 2016,
5African Union, Space Policy, “Towards Social, Political and Economic Integration”, 2017,
https://au.int/sites/default/files/newsevents/workingdocuments/33178-wd-african_space_p
olicy_-_st20444_e_original.pdf.
6NationalTreasury,2020BudgetSpeech,26February2020,http://www.treasury.gov.za/docume
nts/national%20budget/2020/speech/speech.pdf.
7African Space Industry Annual Report 2020 Edition “Space in Africa”, 15 September 2020,
http://satellitemarkets.com/market-trends/annual-2020-african-space-industry-report-released#:~:
text=Over%20US%20%244%20billion%20has,excludingrte.
8UnitedNations,“Treaties:TreatyonPrinciplesGoverningtheActivitiesofStatesintheExplo-
rationandUseofOuterSpace,includingtheMoonandOtherCelestialBodies:SouthAfrica,”n.d.,
https://treaties.un.org/pages/showDetails.aspx?objid=0800000280128cbd.
9Nelly-HelenNejiEbruka,“AfricanStatesandInternationalSpaceTreaties,”SpacewatchGlobal,
2020.ThecountriesthathaveratifiedtheOuterSpaceTreatyareBurkinaFaso,Egypt,Niger,Sierra
4 J.Hendricks
approximately 27 states had adopted national space legislation.10 More African
countries are now exploring the establishment of national space agencies and the
promulgationofnationalspacelegislation.EgyptandAlgeriaarethelatestAfrican
countries to make progress toward enacting national space legislation to codify
and regulate their national space programmes.11 Ethiopia has enacted its national
spacepolicyintolaw12and,on20December2019,launcheditsfirstmicrosatellite,
the Ethiopian Remote Sensing Satellite, from China. More African countries will
undoubtedlyfollowsuitastheuseofspaceapplicationsbecomemorewidespread
onthecontinent,coupledwiththefutureoperationalisationoftheAfricanUnion’s
Space Agency.
3 COVID-19 Impact on South African Space Affairs
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to unveil the utility of space technologies in
managingandcombattingthepandemic.Forexample,theSouthAfricanNational
Space Agency (SANSA) derived data from medium to high resolution satellite
imagery to create a dashboard for the Department of Human Settlements, Water
and Sanitation.13 The data which includes rural and urban density maps, vehicle
traffic movements and communities at risk, could assist the national government
to deploy sufficient resources in the fight against the pandemic.14
Leone,SouthAfrica,Togo,Tunisia,https://spacewatch.global/2020/08/spacewatchgl-opinion-afr
ican-states-and-international-space-treaties/.
10United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, “Promotion for Development of National
SpaceLegislationinDevelopingStatestoEnsureGlobalSpaceGovernance”,2016.Whileaddi-
tional States may have enacted national space law, the following States have submitted their
national legislation to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA): Aus-
tralia,Austria,Argentina,Belgium,Brazil,Canada,Chile,China,France,Germany,Japan,Kaza-
khstan, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, South Korea, the Russian
Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United
States(US),http://www.unoosa.org/pdf/SLW2016/Panel5/2._Chen_Ahmad_National_space_Legi
slation_Presentation_Chen.pdf.
11SpaceinAfrica,“EgyptianSpaceAgencyHoldsBoardMeeting;ProposesNewNationalSpace
ProgramandSpaceLaw”,6March2020,https://africanews.space/egyptian-space-agency-holds-
board-meeting-proposes-national-space-program-and-space-law/,3.Egypt’sSpaceAgencyhelda
boardmeetinginMarch2020todiscuss,interalia,anewnationalspaceprogrammeandspace
law,—Algeria adopted its national space law on 16 August 2019 (UNCOPOUS: International
cooperationinthepeacefulusesofouterspace:activitiesofMemberStates).
122Merkato,“EthiopiaEnactsSpacePolicyintoLaw”,SpaceinAfrican,ENA,https://www.2me
rkato.com/news/alerts/5570-ethiopia-enacts-space-policy-into-law.
13SouthAfricanNationalSpaceAgency,“HumanSettlementstrackingforimprovedservicedeliv-
eryduringandpostapandemic”,2020,https://www.sansa.org.za/2020/10/26/human-settlements-
tracking-for-improved-service-delivery-during-and-post-a-pandemic/.
14Rebecca Campbell, “Space data essential to help plan national response to Covid-19”, 7
April2020,https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/space-data-essential-to-help-plan-national-
response-to-covid-19-2020-04-07/repid:4136.