South African Space Program

The second space tourist was Mark Shuttleworth. He is South African and the first African in Space.

Mark Shuttleworth gained worldwide fame on 25 April 2002 as a spaceflight participant aboard the Russian Soyuz TM-34 mission, paying approximately US$ 20 million at the time. Two days later, the Soyuz spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station, where he spent eight days participating in experiments related to AIDS and genome research. On 5 May 2002, he returned to Earth. Mark Shuttleworth had to undergo one year of training and preparation, including seven months spent in Star City, Russia for the flight.

Small South African Earth Observing Satellite

As of December 2007, a small South African earth observing satellite is currently under development. Commissioned by the Department of Science and Technology, the programme will be carried out by Stellenbosch University in conjunction with Sun Space and Information Systems and the CSIR's Satellite Applications Centre as a capacity building and satellite development initiative. The satellite, named SumbandilaSat, will be positioned in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to enable it to take high resolution images which will be used for agricultural and environmental management applications. The launch date is not known at present

Did you know?

Mark Richard Shuttleworth is a South African entrepreneur who was the second space tourist and first African in space. He is now best known for his leadership of the Ubuntu Linux distribution. Mark Shuttleworth  was born 18 September 1973. He currently lives in London and holds dual citizenship of South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Check in the links the South African Launcher.