South Africa’s space innovators have been recognised by US space agency Nasa for their cutting-edge developments in satellite technology.
According to Nasa’s Small Spacecraft Technology State-of-the-Art Report for 2024, released recently, several South African space tech companies – including Cubecom, CubeSpace, NewSpace Systems and Dragonfly Aerospace – are counted among the world’s best.
These companies design, develop and distribute components critical to the operation of nanosatellites, including communications transmitters, star-tracking cameras, reaction wheels, magnetic torquers and propulsion systems.
“The South African space industry stands out internationally in the sense that our companies are very competitive in the market – and that’s because they are quite entrepreneurial,” said Sampie Booysen, chief technology officer at Cubecom.
“We don’t receive government funding like space companies in Europe or the US, so South African companies have a very sharp focus on profitability, starting lean and really focusing on their core business.”
Nasa releases the report yearly to give guidance to the market on the satellite subsystems available globally, the companies that manufacture them and the level to which those technologies are ready to be used in space. Being featured in the report adds credibility to the companies involved, not just for the products recognised by Nasa, but for the rest of their offerings, too.
South Africa has a solid reputation in the space-tech community. Booysen said South African space companies are well represented at international conferences, where four or five local companies will present their various offerings compared to just one or two from most jurisdictions.
Hyper-specialisation
A combination of sharp business acumen, strong technical skills and hyper-specialisation are some of the qualities that differentiate the local space-tech businesses from their international counterparts.
According to Booysen, the tendency for South African engineers to pick out aspects of space technology where problems have previously not been solved, or have been solved unsatisfactorily, is key to their staying power.
“The problems that South African companies solve are usually quite specialised. Cubecom, CubeSpace, Simera Sense, NewSpace Systems and Dragonfly Aerospace are all leaders in their respective fields. We try not to be ‘me too’ types of companies, but rather to push the envelope of performance in specific satellite subcategories,” said Booysen.
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The local industry’s pedigree is reflected in the rates at which local space companies are growing. Booysen said growth rates are in the mid-20s to high-30s in percentage terms, depending on the company.
South Africa’s space industry has its roots in the SunSAT project, the country’s first nanosatellite built by a group of Stellenbosch University engineers and launched aboard a Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in the US in 1999. The project proved that a small team of dedicated engineers could launch an African-built satellite into space, propelling the growth of the space-tech industry that exists today.
The relationship between Stellenbosch University and the space-satellite industry has only strengthened over the years. Cubecom, for example, sources much of its engineering talent from the university.
Booysen said Cubecom offers students tours of its facilities to help “develop the passion” for space. Cubecom also offers bursaries at the master’s level, giving students the financial means to pursue specialisation and a guarantee of employment. For Cubecom, it ensures that highly specialised skills required in the business are sourced reliably, he said.
Other companies mentioned in Nasa’s report, including CubeSpace and Dragonfly Aerospace, are also based in Stellenbosch. Others like Samira and NewSpace Systems are 15km away in Somerset West, and they maintain similar relations with the university.
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“South Africa has quite a big space industry and it’s an exciting field. You would think you have to go to America or elsewhere to participate in this field, but we have a very good local industry that is actively looking for engineers,” said Booysen. “Our subsystems are at the forefront of what is available, and I think that’s probably the biggest advantage that the South African companies have. We have world-class engineers in South Africa, and we can design world-class competitive solutions to sell in the international market.” –– © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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