Country dossier · ZAF

South Africa

Emerging space nation

A sourced snapshot of South Africa's posture in space — capability, institutions, orbital assets, law and people. Every figure carries its primary source; gaps are shown honestly, never filled with invented data.

Open South Africa in the interactive workspace →

Capability tier

Emerging space nation

Launches to orbit from its own territory: noLaunch sites on record: 1Nationals who have flown: 1

Source: ALL IN SPACE capability ladder · see methodology

Space agency

South African National Space Agency (SANSA)

National space agency · established 2010 · two-source verified

Source: UNOOSA · Worldwide Space Agencies directory

Satellites (owner state)

2

Counted from the GCAT May 2026 snapshot. The interactive workspace shows a live CelesTrak figure, which uses different owner-attribution rules and will differ.

Source: GCAT · General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (J. McDowell) · May 2026 snapshot

Ground stations

12

Source: ALL IN SPACE curated ground-station dataset (operator-sourced)

Space budget

No published space budget indexed for this country.

National strategy

South African National Space Strategy (2009)

Six-pillar national strategy under SANSA coordinating Earth observation, communications, navigation, science and human capital

Source: Published national space strategies and policies

International space law

InstrumentStatus
Outer Space Treaty 1967Ratified
Rescue Agreement 1968Ratified
Liability Convention 1972Ratified
Registration Convention 1975Ratified
Moon Agreement 1979Not a party
Artemis Accords 2020Not a signatory

Source: Status of international agreements relating to activities in outer space (1 January 2026)

Launch sites

  • Overberg Test Range (OTB)Denel Overberg Test Range · Bredasdorp, Western Cape · suborbital · since 1987

Source: National launch site roster · ALL IN SPACE compilation

Astronauts

  • Mark ShuttleworthSpace Adventures / Roscosmos · first flight 2002 · First South African in space; second space tourist

Source: Astronaut biographies

Milestones

  • 1987First orbital launch from national soil
  • 2002First national in space
  • 2010South African National Space Agency (SANSA) established

Notable missions and contributions

  • SumbandilaSat (2009)
  • EOSat-1 (first indigenous EO satellite; in development, not yet launched)
  • ZACube series
  • Host of SKA / MeerKAT