S Africa hails participation in Intl Astronautical Congress

The South African government on Wednesday hailed the recently-concluded International Astronautical Congress 2013 (IAC 2013) in Beijing as a successful platform to raise South African space profile.

The IAC 2013 was held in Beijing from Sept. 23 to Sept. 29.

On Wednesday morning, the Department of Trade and Industry spokesperson Nomfuneko Majaja said,"Participating in the congress afforded the South African space industry a great opportunity to be recognized at an international scale given the presence of all space institutions and companies that attended and exhibited."

The spokesperson stressed that the South African companies that took part in the congress showed the country's growing space capabilities.

During the congress South Africa unveiled the newly-formed satellite manufacturing company and the newly-designed miniaturized satellite CubeSat which will be launched shortly to the international space community.

The University of Pretoria participated in the Manfred Lachs Moot court competition up to the semi-finals.

"Taking part in this competition was to improve the competitive capability of South Africa," said Majaja.

"The benefits accruing to the South African space industry in participating in the IAC 2013 is immeasurable. We hope that next year's congress will provide more opportunities for our companies to exhibit their space capabilities and contributing to strengthening space human and productive capacity," added Majaja.