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Space and satellites: awareness and observations

19 November 2024 | Story Pat Lamusse | Photo Supplied

Space and satellites 2024 — During the visit to the Naval Hill Planetarium, were from the left, Dr Mart-Mari Duvenhage and Prof Matie Hoffman from the UFS Department of Physics, Consul General Stephanie Bunce and Vanessa Toscano from the US Consulate, and Dinah Mangope from the Department of Physics.

A delegation from the United States (US) Consulate General in Johannesburg, including Consul General Stephanie Bunce and Public Affairs Officer, Vanessa Toscano, visited the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS). Consul General Bunce met with the acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS, Prof Anthea Rhoda, and the Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Prof Paul Oberholster. The US delegation also visited the Naval Hill Planetarium.

The UFS recently received a grant from the US Embassy to fund a project to promote science education by highlighting the role of satellites in our lives. Colleagues from the Department of Physics had the opportunity to demonstrate first-hand how the planetarium technology will be used to implement the project, which poses the question – what if something happens in space that interferes with the thousands of satellites we use for communication, weather prediction, navigation, banking … surveillance?

Thanks to this grant, the UFS will explore these questions and contribute to space situational awareness (SSA) and space domain awareness (SDA). SSA involves knowledge about the orbits of spacecraft and space debris. SDA refers to the knowledge and understanding of all activities occurring within the space domain.

There are currently at least 10 000 active satellites in Earth orbit, most of which are in low Earth orbit (LEO). However, in addition to satellites, there are well over 45 000 objects larger than 10 cm in orbit, including more than 35 000 pieces of space debris, such as dead satellites, rocket bodies, and pieces from breakups and collisions. Since 1991, there have been at least six unintentional collisions between active satellites and space debris.

Space turned out to be not as big as once thought, especially not in low Earth orbit (LEO – altitude less than 2 000 km). To make things worse, there are plans to launch up to 100 000 new satellites into LEO over the next decade.

Prof Matie Hoffman from the UFS Department of Physics notes, “We live in an era when the space economy is growing fast and the number of objects in Earth orbit, including satellites and space debris, is increasing rapidly. This poses risks to operational satellites. Recent publicity around Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites has generated additional interest around this topic. It is important to raise awareness of the challenges, which will allow scientists to mitigate them.”

The project will involve expertise in optical satellite observations from the University of Michigan through Prof Patrick Seitzer, international patron of the Friends of Boyden Observatory, and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). The grant will fund planetarium upgrades that will enable education on space and satellites, as well as optical satellite observations from Boyden Observatory. Beneficiaries will include learners, higher education institutions (both locally and in the US), and the public. South African project partners will be the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), the Future African Space Explorers’ STEM Academy (FASESA), and satellite-related companies in South Africa.

The Boyden Observatory is ideally situated to provide valuable optical satellite observations in an area of the sky that is not accessible from existing satellite observing facilities, especially for objects in LEO. In fact, the first observation of space debris in geosynchronous orbit was from Boyden Observatory in 1967.

The project will be rolled out from the end of 2024, harnessing facilities at both Boyden Observatory and the Naval Hill Planetarium.

News Archive

UFS to award honorary doctorate to Maria Ramos

2004-12-08

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) recently approved the awarding of an honorary doctorate to Ms Maria Ramos, Group Chief Executive of Transnet in April 2005. A total of five honorary doctorandi will be honored.

The other doctorandi are Proff Jan Groenewald (D Sc (hc)), Jaap Durand (D Phil (hc)), Sampie Terreblanche (C Dom (hc)) and Anthon Heyns (MD (hc)).

Me Ramos will receive an honorary doctorate in Economics (P hD (Economics) (hc)) for the large contribution she made to the establishment of a prudent fiscal and macro-economic policy in South Africa and hence, to the restoration of the financial credibility of the country in the eyes of domestic and foreign investors. Ms Ramos was the Director General of the National Treasury from 1996-2003.

She obtained the MSc-degree in Economics in 1992 from the University of London and was awarded a British Council Scholarship (Helen Suzman award) in the same year and in 1991. During the early nineties she was among others project leader of the ANC’s Macro-economic Research Group and also a member of the team that negotiated chapters on finance in the interim Constitution of South Africa. She was a research associate at the Centre for the Study of the South African Economy and International Finance at the London School of Economics and also lectured at the Universities of South Africa and the Witwatersrand.

“It is a great privilege for us to honor Ms Ramos and the other doctorandi in their different fields of expertise. This once again serves as an example of the UFS’s policy to give recognition to people who excel and make a difference,” said Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

Prof Jan Groenewald will receive an honorary doctorate for his life-long commitment to the establishment and development of Agricultural Economics as a subject field in South Africa and in Africa and his various contributions to the UFS. During his career, Prof Groenewald received various awards among others in 1998 when he received the Stals Prize for Economics from the South African Academy for Science and Art and in 1990 when he received an honorary medal from the South African Society for Agricultural Economics.

Prof Jaap Durand will receive an honorary doctorate in Philosophy for his pioneering work on various fields in the South African society. He obtained his Masters degree in Philosophy from the UFS and contributed to almost 60 articles and collections. Prof Durand has a colourful career as academic manager: from professor in Systematic Theology and dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of the Western Cape to Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the same university. He was the ombudsman of the University of Stellenbosch from 2002-2003.

Prof Sampie Terreblanche will receive an honorary doctorate in Economics for the important role he played, and is still playing, to keep the debate about and the need for socio-economic and socio-political reform in South Africa going. Prof Terreblanche started his career as a lecturer at the UFS. In 1992 the Stals Prize for Economics was awarded to him by the South African Academy for Science and Art. Prof Terreblanche was also a founding member of ASSET, an organisation addressing the problems of poverty, inequality and social injustice in South Africa.

Prof Anthon Heyns, Chief Executive Officer of the South African National Blood Service, will receive an honorary doctorate in Medicine. Prof Heyns is a well-known international researcher in Hematology and recently received a Centenary Medal from the UFS for his strong role and national prominence as expert and leading figure in establishing and developing Hematology at the UFS. He was the first head of the UFS’s Department of Hematology and is also co-editor of the only Afrikaans hand book of Hematology. He serves among others as a council member and member of the executive management of the South African Medical Research Council. On the international front he serves on at least five committees of the World Health Organisation based in Geneve, Switzerland. He has two honorary appointments as professor respectively at the UFS and University of the Witwatersrand.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
8 December 2004

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