Four months ago, the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) signed an agreement on the RadioAstron space satellite. Under the agreement, Roscosmos will provide the hardware for upgrading the tracking station
(antenna) for compatibility with RadioAstron, while SANSA will install and maintain the upgraded hardware and operate the tracking station.

To find out how the project has been since the signed agreement by the two BRICS members, we spoke to Shravan Singh, Radio Frequency Engineer (responsible for the technical side of the RadioAstron project) at SANSA Space Operations.

Each year, the Space Frequency Coordination Group (SFCG) holds its annual meeting. The 33rd edition was held in Toulouse, France, 25 June to 3 July 2013. SANSA's Yunus Bhayat attended the gathering.

Such meetings offer the best opportunity for face-to-face discussions and airing of opinions among knowledgeable people dedicated to secure the allocation of radio frequencies needed for safe and efficient space-to-earth and ground-to-space operations, and to prevent any radio frequency interference among the various space-based and terrestrial systems.

Frequency allocations are part of the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Radio Regulations that are developed and negotiated among national and international telecommunications authorities and eventually approved and promulgated at the World Radio Conference. Space Agencies from across the world comprising mostly developed countries have established the SFCG to coordinate their activities. The group was formed as early as 1979 during the General World Administrative Radio Conference. Last year the SANSA applied for membership and through the agency South Africa became a member of this very important and highly respected group.