| Summary/Abstract |
South Africa has made significant advances in attempting to organise and formalise its space sector with the prime focus of leveraging the benefits of space science and technology for socio-economic growth and sustainable development. A particular instrument in this regard is the National Space Policy, which provides for a set of strategic objectives and guiding principles in terms of how stakeholders, both state and non-state actors, should organise and conduct themselves within the framework of a national space programme. The National Space Policy aims to improve the level of co-ordination and co-operative governance in the space sector that in the past has been fragmented and disorganised, and to further develop a domestic space industrial base. The foundation for a sustainable national space programme hinges critically on the participation of the domestic industry in the national space agenda and thereto the creation of a supportive regulatory environment is necessary. This paper provides insight into the main tenets of South Africa’s National Space Policy with the aim of highlighting the key policy directives.
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