Africa

This week's Space Café WebTalk took place on 14 April 2020, featuring Carla Sharpe, Business Manager at SKA South Africa, in conversation with Torsten Kriening, co-publisher of SpaceWatch.Global and COO of ThorGroup GmbH.

Space science and space exploration are generally undertaken for the benefit of humanity and thus are normally regarded as a public good provided at a cost to national governments.

CSS, a West African communications services provider with 20 years of experience supplying critical satellite and broadband services, together with Forsway, a leading provider of innovative solutions tapping satellite and existing terrestrial technologies to enable cost-efficient broadband, announced on 7 April 2020 the next phase of their cooperation in Mauritania to deliver affordable broadband in West Africa.

Konnect Africa, a subsidiary of Eutelsat Communications, Schoolap and Flash Services announced on 23 March 2020 a Memorandum of Understanding to connect several thousand schools across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the Internet as part of the Schoolap project.

The Farming by Satellite Prize rewards young innovators exploring the use of satellite technologies to improve agriculture and reduce environmental impact. Applications for the 2020 Prize opened 16 March 2020.

Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) President Jean-Yves Le Gall and Sekou Ouedraogo, President of the African Aeronautics & Space Organisation (AASO), signed a partnership agreement to develop ,the ActInSpace international hackathon in Africa.

Peraton has been awarded a US$218.6 million contract to provide commercial satellite communications services for the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM).

Channel network and content distributor AfricaXP has signed multi-year agreements with Eutelsat Communications for Ku-band capacity on two Eutelsat satellites, positioned at 16° East and 7° East.

High-performance internet connectivity was restored in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) within just four days after the West Africa Cable System (WACS) undersea cable cut, thanks to the combined efforts of Gilat Telecom and SES, the companies announced on 10 February 2020.

The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently signed an agreement to partner in a study to conduct technical and environmental research on the potential to establish a ground station in South Africa.