British research and development funding agency Innovate UK has launched a programme to help revitalise the South African space industry. This is part of a wider programme which also seeks to stimulate the Kenyan and Rwandan space industries. South Africa, Kenya and Rwanda have been chosen, Johannesburg-based Innovate UK knowledge transfer manager Alana Kruger tells Engineering News Online, because, with Egypt, they have the strongest space industries on the continent.

“The space industry in Africa is growing fast,” she highlights. “At the latest African Earth Observation Challenge, there were 19 participants – the biggest number yet. The key factor is that satellite data is now readily available in Africa, which was not previously the case.”

Regarding South Africa in particular, back in February Innovate UK hosted a space technology dinner in the country, which was attended by nearly all the players in the South African space industry. The state of the local industry was discussed, as was what support the UK could provide, the British being very strong in some (but not all) space sectors.

“The successful South African space companies are manufacturing overseas because there is no market in South Africa,” she reports. “Only CubeSats are made here. A consequence is that there is a lack of enthusiasm for space among students, due to the lack of jobs, the lack of prospects. So, we’ve now come in, to launch a youth empowerment programme for space technology. It’s called the NextGen Space Challenge, and it’s a competition to identify young professionals between 18 and 30, who have innovative ideas on using space – for example, Earth observation data – to benefit South Africa and Africa.”

The Challenge is a partnership between Innovate UK, the South African National Space Agency, and Digital Earth Africa. The winner will be announced at the end of this month (October).

The prize is a sponsored trip to the UK where the winner, alongside leading space technology experts from Kenya and Rwanda as well as South Africa, will visit the UK’s leading aerospace companies, institutions and financiers. The winner will also be awarded a free mentorship with Digital Earth Africa.

“We plan to further develop bilateral space cooperation, with further programmes to support the development of South African space startups,” affirms Kruger.