South Africa
South Africa's space sector is anchored by commercial activity.
Most of what's recorded for South Africa falls under commercial activity, alongside activity in orbital activity and ground infrastructure. Compared with South African countries captured on Spacehubs Africa tracked on the platform, it ranks 1 of 5 by recorded activity. (1 of 55 continent-wide.)
Coverage Rank
1 of 5
Captured Records
183
Benchmark Scope
South African countries captured on Spacehubs Africa
1 of 55 continent-wide
This is a platform-coverage benchmark, not an official national capability ranking.
Overview
South Africa operates the most developed space sector on the continent. The South African National Space Agency (SANSA), established under the National Space Agency Act in 2010, coordinates Earth observation, space weather monitoring, satellite operations, and deep space tracking from facilities including the HartRAO radio telescope and the Matjiesfontein deep space station. South Africa has launched multiple satellites including SunSat (1999), SumbandilaSat (2009), and the ZACube CubeSat series from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. A domestic manufacturing ecosystem has emerged around companies such as Dragonfly Aerospace, Simera Sense, NewSpace Systems, CubeSpace, and Cubecom. Stellenbosch University and the University of KwaZulu-Natal maintain active space science programmes. South Africa's National Space Policy and National Space Strategy provide the governance framework, and the country chairs the African Space Agency's southern regional node.
International Collaborations
Active and high-signal collaboration records currently captured for this country.
Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies
+104
Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched Into Outer Space
+93
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Convention on Registration of Objects Launched Into Outer Space
+75
Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects
+73
Wetland Assessment and Monitoring Services for Transboundary Basins in Southern Africa
African Group on Earth Observations
+31
Square Kilometre Array Observatory
+17
Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
+104
Satellites
On-orbit footprint for South Africa. Expand below for the full satellite history.
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Space Debris · 1
De-orbited · 9
MDASat-1a
MDASat-1b
MDASat-1c
SumbandilaSat
XinaBox ThinSAT
ZA-Aerosat
ZaCube-1
ZaCube-2
nSight1
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