[Satellite TODAY 03-27-13] The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) have signed an agreement on the RadioAstron satellite, which was launched by Roscosmos on July 2011. Under the agreement, the RadioAstron mission will support and enhance investment in radio astronomy infrastructure in Africa, contributing to capacity building and socio-economic development on the continent. 

    The satellite was designed to complement the capability of ground-based very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) instruments with a space-based VLBI instrument. Although the RadioAstron aerial is only 10 meters across, and is dwarfed by many ground-based radio telescopes, by combining signals with telescopes on the ground (through interferometry) RadioAstron is able to make observations with a high level of precision. 

    African integrated communications solutions provider Telkom created an 18-m C-Band antenna available for RadioAston tracking and acquisition in South Africa. 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. 
 

    The RadioAstron project is an international collaboration led by Russia’s Astro Space Centre of the Lebedev Physical Institute (ASC LPI) in Moscow. Other partners include the European Space Agency (ESA), the U.S. National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), India’s Tata Institute for Fundamental Research (TIFR), and Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).