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First AFSAGA workshop on applications of satellite navigation for SADC yields positive results
Several far-reaching applications and benefits of satellite navigation applications were identified by delegates at the first workshop of the African Satellite Communication and Galileo Application (AFSAGA). The two-day event commenced on 7 August 2007 at Maropeng in Gauteng and concluded at the CSIR Satellite Applications Centre on 8 August 2007.
AFSAGA is a European Commission Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) project led by Thales Alenia Space, the European leader in satellite systems and coordinator and leader of the project. The CSIR is the second consortium partner in the project, which falls within the FP6's Satellite Telecommunications, International cooperation, Combined Galileo satellite telecommunication services theme.
The purpose of the workshop was to disseminate information on the combined use of satellite navigation and satellite communication in order to address possible user needs within the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Some 30 delegates from government and industry attended the event. Presentations by Yannick Lefebvre of Thales Alenia Space and Eugene Avenant of the CSIR balanced technical detail with easily assimilated examples of applications, an approach designed to elicit and provoke discussion and comment from delegates. The presentations included a demonstration of a navigation overlay service.
Following the workshop, the project has identified a range of applications and an action plan for the analysis part of the project.
At the heart of the AFSAGA project lies the potential of the Early Galileo Navigation Operational Service (EGNOS), the precursor to Galileo, which together form the basis of the European Global Navigation Satellite System. EGNOS augments the widely used Global Positioning System (GPS) technology through superior accuracy, continuity, integrity and availability.
Commenting at the opening of the event, Thales Alenia Space representative and keynote speaker Philippe Rohgi noted, "This project is evidence of the political will in Europe to expand benefits of satellite navigation to Africa. We are optimistic that the timing and nature of this workshop has set in motion a virtuous discussion regarding applications based on the infrastructure available."
Val Munsami, Manager: Space Science and Technology of the Department of Science and Technology, confirmed the value of navigation systems and particularly EGNOS, to South Africa's ten-year strategy for space science and technology and the establishment of the South African Space Agency. "I see navigation as a key area to socio-economic development," he commented. "The benefits of using EGNOS are, however, wider, as it will allow us to develop human capacity in this sector."
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