#01 2017
Foreword
Features
Outcomes of the 4th Ministerial Meeting of the SKA African partner countries
Roscosmos satellite laser and radio ranging system inaugurated
Pioneering research and data management in Africa
Students complete AVN training
SKA SA participates in Expo 2017 in Kazakhstan
Staff members present at Engineering Meeting
Big Data project launched in Ghana
2017 Jansky Lectureship Awarded to Bernie Fanaroff
AR 1.5 presented to Minister of Science and Technology
Outreach
Career Awareness Day in Mamelodi
SKA SA hosts SA’s 2016 top matriculants
IAU and SKA SA promote science communication
ASSET Mathematics and Science Holiday Programme
Profile
Roscosmos satellite laser and radio ranging system officially inaugurated
SARAO News #01 2017
The Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) in Gauteng was host to the official opening of the Russian satellite laser and radio ranging system, SAZHEN-TM+OWS on 27 February 2017.
Dr Thomas Auf der Heyde, Deputy Director-General: Research Development and Support in the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Sergey Saveliev from the Russian State Space Corporation officiated the opening. Among the guests were officials from from JC RPC PSI, the contractor company responsible for the production and installation, staff members from HartRAO’s Geodetic programme, delegates from the DST, the National Research Foundation and the Deputy Head of the Mission of the Russian Embassy in South Africa.
Saveliev commented on the more than 25 years of cooperation and friendly relations between South Africa and Russia. “The launch not only confirms these friendly relations, but also is solid ground for further development of the scientific cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Africa,” said Saveliev.
Acting Managing Director of HartRAO, Prof. Ludwig Combrinck, pointed out that cooperation with Russian institutions and enterprises is currently happening on multiple levels in South Africa. “This event is another step forward in the field of science for both countries,” said Combrinck.
This installation is the second laser and radio ranging system of the foreign segment of the Roscosmos network of stations developed in support of the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS). The first was commissioned on 14 July 2014 in Brazil. The system can range to satellites with an orbital altitude of 25 000 km, perform continuous tracking of navigation signals from GLONASS and Global Positioning System satellites, take measurements of current navigation parameters and receive navigation messages transmitted from the satellites.
Hosting such a system at HartRAO means that it is co-located with the Very Long Baseline Interferometry dishes situated at HartRAO, as well as other geodetic instruments. This ensures that it is directly linked to international reference frames (which use distant quasars as reference points against which to measure the earth’s orientation in space) and will in turn provide a very valuable reference for the GLONASS system.
This extra geodetic installation further strengthens HartRAO’s role in the international arena, by enhancing the fundamental nature of the services that HartRAO provides to the Global Geodetic Observing System and the International Earth Rotation Service.
It not only increases the accuracy of local reference frames for South Africa, but is also critical in ensuring accurate pointing of telescopes, such as those currently based at HartRAO and those soon to come online when the MeerKAT radio telescope in the Karoo becomes fully operational.
Group photo of Russian and South African delegates attending the opening function.
The Roscosmos satellite laser and radio ranging system – the dome which houses the telescope and laser transmitter, and the container which houses the operator instruments.
Last Updated on September 7, 2017
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