HBK CHAT VOL: 22 ISS 1

Antenna Farm

International Space News (ISN)

HBK People

Missions and Launches

SHERQ Space

HBK Guests

HR Space

ONE THING THAT IS INFINITE – THE SPACE

VOL 22: ISS 1

The wonder of SpaceOps through the eyes of Sharon Petrus

Where are you in the change management process?

An entity of the Department of Science and Innovation.

Contents & Credits

HBK CHAT

Contents Foreword 03

Let’s Celebrate! Antenna Farm

04 06 07 09 10

Intelsat C-18: My inaugural project International Space News (ISN) Soyuz exits international launch market, OneWeb courts SpaceX The wonder of SpaceOps through the eyes of Sharon Petrus HBK People “What I like about what I do is the opportunity to bring things back to life” Space Ops supports Earth observing and communication satellites SHERQ Space Space Ops Observes National Water Month Do you know your SHE duties as an employee? HR Space “Great pursuits require sacrifice, perseverance and discipline” Missions and Launches

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Where are you in the change management process?

Credits Design and Layout:

Sherino Printers

Publisher:

SANSA (HBK)/Raoul Hodges

Contributors:

Gladys Magagula Y unus Bhayat Nontobeko Gumede Emelia Mosima Arulan Pillay

Managing Editor:

Emelia Mosima

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Foreword

VOL 22: ISS 1

Let’s Celebrate! The contents of this HBK Chat issue matter to me and I hope they matter to you too. I view this publication as yet another place for all SANSA Space Operations team members to “gather” and get to know each other and the nitty-gritties of our business. It is a window to what makes us pace through HBK corridors, pump extra hours; and ultimately what makes us proud of our SANSA-wide value-add. Needless to say, it is also an opportunity for us to celebrate together, personal and professional milestones. As we close out 2022/23 and turn a page to the new financial year, we have a lot to celebrate and a lot to look forward to. The first thing we can celebrate is that the government has lifted the national

state of disaster. Though this is great news, we must not forget that it does not mean we are out

changes including new leadership, new business model and new structure. It is understandable to find yourself still struggling to come to terms with some of the changes. The article on pg-15 aims to offer a helping hand regarding the changes undertaken. On pg- 6, we paint a picture of some key global space activities that may affect us in the long run while pgs-9 and 10 put in the spotlight two of our colleagues, Yunus Bhayat and Mpumi Malinga. The cover story highlights our planned participation in the 17th International Conference on Space Operations which is taking place in Dubai next year 6-10 March 2023. Enjoy the read! Raoul Hodges Space Operations MD

of the COVID woods yet. It is still crucial to be cautious, follow protocols and take precautionary measures such as vaccinating. At SANSA, we marked two years of pandemic life with several

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Antenna Farm

HBK CHAT

Intelsat C-18: My inaugural project - Gladys Magagula

Intelsat C-18 project was my first taste of proj- ect management and ground station building. After SumbandilaSat malfunctioned, I did a lot of things in various departments and was attracted to the build- ing of an antenna from scratch. I requested and was granted permission to shadow the project manager for the C-18 project. Before I could understand what Project Management Book of Knowledge, aka PMBOK, was, the project manager had to move from the project and I was given the challenge to lead the project management effort for C-18. It was exciting and overwhelming at the same time, but the belief that the SANSA SO management team had in me kept me going. I searched around for project management courses and found that Wits Business School

was offering a project management course that was programmed to start later that year. SANSA SO, as an investor in people, sped up my registration and payment to start the programme because the organisation wanted to give the client the best service, whatever the circumstances. The year 2013 was an action learning year in that I had to live the theory of project management in my day-to-day work tasks. While being discreet, I would create a hypothetical scenario in class to get advice and comments from lecturers which I would, in turn, apply to the project. With the help of the lecturers, the engineers, the technical team, and the challenging contractor, we delivered a successful project. To date, I have worked on many Intelsat projects and still counting.

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Antenna Farm

VOL 22: ISS 1

“… the organisation wanted to give the client the best service, whatever the circumstances.”

Contractors installing C-18 antenna at SANSA HBK ground station.

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International Space News (ISN)

HBK CHAT

Soyuz exits international launch market, OneWeb Courts SpaceX - Yunus Bhayat

More than a dozen non-Russian satellite missions were counting on Soyuz launches over the next year and beyond before the war in Ukraine disrupted those plans. The hardest hit was OneWeb, which was relying on Soyuz to deploy roughly 200 satellites by midyear. OneWeb typically launches 32- 36 satellites at a time (Seradata, 2022). But the London-based global communications network experienced the biggest scheduling headache without Soyuz. The low Earth orbit broadband startup, which bought all but two of the 10 missions that Soyuz flew for non-Russian customers in 2021, planned to deploy its final six batches of satellites by the middle of this year using the Russian rocket. OneWeb’s latest batch of 36 satellites had been poised to lift off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome on March 4 before

Russia imposed conditions on the launch. OneWeb subsequently suspended all further Soyuz missions. However, OneWeb may be able to significantly offset the delays caused by Soyuz with its recent announcement of a launch partnership with SpaceX. Conversely, more than a dozen former Soyuz satellite missions need new rides now that Soyuz withdrew from the international launch market, raising questions over how fast the launch market can absorb the loss of the workhorse rocket. While Russia’s share of the international launch market has shrunk, the Soyuz rocket’s sudden exit from the global stage has left more than a dozen non-Russian satellite missions without clear paths to orbit. The European Union counted on at

constellation, Euclid infrared space telescope and EarthCARE satellite; the Sentinel 1C radar satellite for Europe’s Copernicus Earth-observation programme; the Swedish National Space Agency-funded MATS microsatellite for measuring gases in Earth’s atmosphere; four GRUS remote sensing microsatellites for Japanese Earth imagery operator Axelspace; and the StriX-1 demonstration satellite for Synspective, a Japanese synthetic aperture radar (SAR) company. The Soyuz mission embargo is considered to have no imminent or future impact on SANSA Space Operations. However, the knock- on effect on international launch manifest with customers seeking alternatives to Soyuz, adding to the Ariane launch manifest, with an already existing backlog, together with the phasing out of many major heavy-lift launch vehicles, may have a negative effect on the number of launch missions; and in turn, the number of missions SANSA may be contracted to support this year onwards. From a SANSA point of view, a launch backlog will potentially adversely affect future planned missions over the next 5-10 years. ESA’s

least six Soyuz rockets this year and beyond to launch a mix of navigation, Earth observation, and science satellites from France’s South American spaceport. Stranded mission payloads in 2022/2023 include two pairs of satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation

Image Courtesy of BBC News

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International Space News (ISN)

VOL 22: ISS 1

The wonder of SpaceOps through the eyes of Sharon Petrus - Emelia Mosima

Having been left with only three years to retirement, you would think it’s fair to declare that Sharon Petrus has reached the end of her prime. Yet for her, the future is as bright as Dubai’s night lights and amassed with opportunities. Petrus recently accompanied SANSA Space Operations Committee Members to SpaceOps Spring Meetings held in Dubai in preparation of the 17th International Conference on Space Operations, also dubbed SpaceOps, scheduled for 6-10 March 2023. “I got a bit of a fright when Tiaan Strydom asked me to assist in the SpaceOps secretariat function, and it was also of short notice. I felt overwhelmed but I wanted to help. I knew a bit about what has been going on in SpaceOps over the years because I’ve previously provided logistical support for the SANSA team attending the conference. I was also part of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) supporting the Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) when South Africa hosted SpaceOps virtual conference in 2020/21”, narrates Petrus.

The secretariat function of the Space Ops Organization was previously fulfilled by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) which ceded these responsibilities early this year citing organisational growth. Following this, SpaceOps ExCom decided that previous and upcoming hosts will jointly assume these responsibilities. Consequently, SANSA as the previous hosts is sharing these responsibilities with Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), the host of SpaceOps 2023. “My biggest role at the Spring Meeting was to observe how things are done so that the handover process can begin. It was a bit intimidating to be in the room with the different organising groups. Also an honour, I must say, to meet all the guys from NASA and ESA. You would’ve realised how normal a people they are but quite intense in terms of what SpaceOps must deliver”, Petrus explains. The duties of the SpaceOps Secretariat include communication support services to the SpaceOps Organization and its associated committees; marketing and

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International Space News (ISN)

HBK CHAT

“I am very protective over my work because I am meticulous. I put a lot of time and effort into what I do”.

promotion of the SpaceOps conference; abstract and manuscript management; coordination of online repository for paper publishing and archiving; and other related activities. Asked about how she’s handling the additional tasks that comes with the secretariat responsibilities, Petrus admits that it has been overwhelming. “Though I am allowed to share some of my responsibilities with other colleagues, it hasn’t been easy for me. I am very protective over my work because I am meticulous. I put a lot of time and effort into what I do. So, for me to hand over some of my work will take some time. I know this is not always a good thing, but I believe I will get better with time.” SpaceOps has been hosting biennial conferences since 1990. SANSA started participating in SpaceOps

in 2002 and has benefited from the international exposure this conference affords. For Petrus, the benefits of being actively involved behind the SpaceOps scenes are exposure to the international space industry, working with industry leaders such as NASA as well as the growth opportunities and networks it can create. “I am taking things step by step. Once I get through it, it will sink in. I am quite excited about it. I don’t consider myself ingenious. I’ve always had to work very hard to learn, understand and run with things. And because my career at SANSA is coming to an end very soon, I feel like this new role could be a steppingstone to a plan B in my retirement. I think I will die very quickly if I retire with no plan on how I will spend my days. I still have a lot of life left in me”, concludes Petrus.

ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet - Dubai_at_night_pillars

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HBK People

VOL 22: ISS 1

“What I like about what I do is the opportunity to bring things back to life” - Emelia Mosima Space Ops’s very own Nompumelelo “Mpumi” Malinga featured in the commemoration of International Women’s Day. This was through a social media campaign led by SANSA Head Office.

Here’s some titbits about Mpumi: SANSA Position:

HVAC Technician

Qualifications:

Diploma in Electrical Engineering (Ekurhuleni West College) Diploma in Electronics and Electronic Communications (Vaal University of Technology) Diploma in Heat, Ventilation and Airconditioning (ACRA) Qualified as an electrical artisan in 2012 2 nd runner up in the Women in Space Engineering Competition for an essay to get more girls and woman interested in space engineering.

Achievements:

Her message to women: What we lack in physical strength, we make up for in our minds. Nothing should stop any woman from becoming an engineer.

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HBK People

HBK CHAT

“Great pursuits require sacrifice, perseverance and discipline” - Emelia Mosima

What did you do to celebrate this milestone? I “celebrated” by treating my family to a dinner and spending time with them. What’s next? Possibly more academic pursuits such as an LLM or master’s degree. I have managed to secure the required fourth-year aggregate for master’s degree eligibility at my university of choice.

Take us through your educational background I have a National Diploma in Electronic Engineering. It was through this qualification that I joined the CSIRSatelliteApplication Centre which later became a part of SANSA. The month of March 2022 marked my 26th anniversary at SANSA. I also have certificates in technology leadership, and air, space and telecommunications law. I embarked on my LLB journey through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in 2012 and will be graduated on 1 April 2022. What inspired you to study LLB? I am actively involved in radio frequency spectrum policy, licensing and regulatory work. This field of study was almost a natural academic progression based on my day-to-day work responsibilities which I have, over the years, loved and enjoyed. The national and international legal and regulatory framework relating to space activities underwent many changes over the years and I foresee myself influencing or advocating for progressive reforms within the local and broader space sector. You took quite some time to complete your qualification, what kept you motivated? It took me ten years to complete the post-graduate degree. I had to look back every so often to reflect on the

letter I wrote to myself about why I embarked on this journey and what sort of possibilities may arise from it. Believing in myself was integral in bringing this goal to reality. Are you saying there was never a moment when you felt like giving up? There were indeed many, many such moments. The studies were very demanding and juggling between work, personal life and studies was not easy. I encountered many personal setbacks but I believe that great pursuits require sacrifice, perseverance and discipline. I had a conviction in what I was doing, and so I soldiered on. How did you balance work responsibilities, family demands and studies? I remained focused and managed my time well. Working off plans and timetables, even though I despised it, almost always paid off. Recognising my limitations, I tried to not overdo or overstretch myself by prioritising and making time for all the things I deem important. How do you feel now that you have completed your LLB degree? I feel relieved and grateful. It was a big sigh of relief when I received my final results. I amalsoverygrateful to SANSA and my family for their support.

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Missions and Launches

VOL 22: ISS 1

Space Ops Supports Earth Observing and Communication Satellites - Yunus Bhayat

Launched on 19 December 2021, Türksat 5B is a Turkish geostationary high-throughput (HTS) communica- tions satellite developed for military and commercial purposes. It is slat- ed to serve on a geostationary orbit at 42° east longitude.Once placed in a +-36000km geostrationary orbit, it will use onboard electric thrusters to reach 42 degrees east to provide high throughput Ka- and Ku-band services over Turkey, the Middle East and parts of Africa. It was built on a Eurostar-3000 EOR satellite bus manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space with a mass of 4,500 kg and an expected design life- time of 15 years. SANSA Space Operations provid- ed transfer-orbit support (TOS) for TURKSAT-5B using the HBK-07 Ku/ DBS-band antenna system. A total of 8 days of support was successfully provided. Space Operations is also

contracted to provide the Earth-Orbit Raising (EOR) phase support which is currently being undertaken weekly with around 3 to 4 passes per month for the next few months. Another exciting launch support was for GOES-18 aka GOES-T, a new satellite within the current generation of weather satellites operated by the USA’s National Oceanic and Atmo- spheric Administration (NOAA). The current and next satellites of the se- ries will extend the availability of the Geostationary Operational Environ- mental Satellite (GOES) system until 2037. GOES-T is the third in a series of four spacecraft in NOAA’s current gen- eration of weather-monitoring satel- lites in geostationary orbit. NOAA’s GOES fleet tracks hurricanes, severe storms, wildfires, dust storms, and other weather events in real-time, giv- ing forecasters a minute-by-minute

glimpse of evolving conditions. The satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral on 1 March 2022 from an Atlas V. It was built by Lockheed Mar- tin and is based on the A2100A satel- lite bus which will have an expected useful life of 15 years. SANSA Space Operations provided S-band transfer-orbit support (TOS) to the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) during the first nine days of the mission, most of which was nominal. The satellite on the other hand, ex- perienced an automatic engine shut- down that consequently aborted its first major post-launch manoeuvre, whilst moving toward its operational geostationary orbit. The cause of the anomaly was identified and resolved, and the satellite is reported to not be in any danger nor did it experience any damage. GOES-T successfully resumed orbit-raising with a main en- gine burn on March 5.

Date

Type

Client

Satellite

Duration

Frequency band

19 December 2021 TOS and EOR Intelsat

Turksat-5B TOS: L + 8 days EOR: weekly Ku

1 March 2022

TOS

SSC

GOES-18 (T) TOS

S

Artist’s concept of the GOES-T satellite in orbit_Credit_Lockheed Martin

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SHERQ Space

HBK CHAT

Space Ops Observes National Water Month

SANSA Operations observed National Water Month which takes place annually in South Africa during the month March and further celebrated from 23-26 of March. The 2022 theme focused on groundwater and we are especially touched by this at HBK because we use borehole water. South Africa remains a water scarce country and is ranked in the top 30 driest countries worldwide. The manner in which water is consumed remains critical on and off duty. Globally, about 2.2 billion people live without access to safe water. National Water Month aims to underline the importance of freshwater and advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6(SDG 6): Water and Sanitation for all by 2030. Space

How is water important to your workplace, home and family life, your livelihood, your cultural practices, your wellbeing, your local environment? • Water can mean health, hygiene, dignity and productivity. • In natural spaces, water can mean peace, harmony and preservation. • Water is one of the critical resources for our operations and sustainability. Today, water is under extreme threat from a growing population, increasing demands of agriculture and industry, and the worsening impacts of climate change. By recording and celebrating all the different ways water benefits our lives, we can value water properly and safeguard it effectively for everyone. Adapted from www.portsmouthwater.co.uk After a mind-blowing session by the Department of Water and Sanitation on 23 March 2022, HBK staff headed to the Lapa for more activities in commemoration of National Water Week.

- Compiled by Nontobeko Gumede

Here are a few water saving tips to help you start saving today

SHORT SHOWER Take a short shower rather than a bath

FULL LOADS Only run washing machines or dishwashers with full loads

SAVE-A-FLUSH Place a save-a-flush bag in your toilet cistern or fit a dual flush toilet

FIX DRIPPING TAPS Fix dripping taps, report

BUCKET WATER Wash your car with bucket water and sponge rather than a hose pipe

all burst pipes immediately

GARDEN BEFORE 8 AM Harvest rain water and use for garden, water your garden before 8 am or after 8 pm to reduce evaporation losses

TAP OFF Turn the tap off while brushing your teeth

Don't let life slip down the drain.

Adapted from www.portsmouthwater.co.uk

Don’t forget to sanitise. Stop the spread of COVID-19!

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SHERQ Space

VOL 22: ISS 1

Do you know your SHE duties as an employee? - Compiled by Nontobeko Gumede

Here are some changes in the SHE legislation to take note of: NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT 107 OF 1998 * Amendment of Section 24H Registration Authority Regulations, 2016. Published in GG 45883 Notice Number 1733 dated 7 February 2022 and Published in GG 45886 Notice Number 1735 dated 8 February 2022 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: BIODIVERSITY ACT 10 OF 2004 * Declaration of certain land as part of the existing Harold Porter National Botanical Garden. Published in GG 45930 Notice Number 1763 dated 18 February 2022. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: WASTE ACT 59 OF 2008 * Amendments to the List of Waste Management Activities that have, or are likely to have, a Detrimental Effect on the Environment. Published in GG 45907 Notice Number 1757 dated 11 February 2022.

Are you aware that safety, health and environment is the responsibility of all employees? Every employee has the responsibility and duty to take reasonable care of his own health and safety and the health and safety of any other person who may be affected by his acts/omissions. This is how to carry out SHE duties: * Be aware of and understand all the hazards and risks associated with your job and work area * Cooperate and carry out all instructions given to prevent any incidents related to health and safety * Always follow safe work procedures for hazardous tasks * Report any high-risk conditions to the SHE Rep and supervisor as soon as possible * Report any incident (an injury or anything which may affect health and environment) to the supervisor and SHE Rep as soon as possible and before the end of the shift * Assist the employer to establish and maintain a healthy and safe working environment. As an employee, you must speak up when: * You don’t understand the task or safe work procedure * You have innovative ideas * You see a colleague not following safety precautions (reprimand unsafe working behaviours) * You see a colleague adhering to SHE protocols (reward good work) * You need assistance or have a concern.

Courtesy of Unsplash

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HBK Guest

HBK CHAT

Nico Voster from Skywire, a local internet service provider, accompanied by radio amateur enthusiasts, John Sygo and Bernard van der Walt, paid Space Ops a visit to explore business opportunities and possible areas of mutual interests and collaboration.

SANSA HBK hosted 30 girls from across the country courtesy of Girl Fly Programme in Africa (GFPA) Foundation. GFPA hosts multiple camps annually to expose girls form previously disadvantaged groups to opportunities in the aviation and space industries.

18 March 2022

28 March 2022

Project Manager, Gladys Magagula, explains how antennas communicate with satellites to the GFPA learner cohort during the HBK site tour.

Nico Voster, Yunus Bhayat, John Sygo and Bernard van der Walt spared a moment for a snapshot after their HBK site tour.

A learner shows items from the SANSA goodie bag.

Learners showcase their SANSA goodie bags after their visit.

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HR Space

VOL 22: ISS 1

Where are you in the change management process?

ABILITY equals action. Ability is achieved when knowledge in turned into action. Are you implementing the change required at the required performance levels? Then you can claim this spot in the change process. By the way, change is for the brave; it is not always easy and therefore not always attainable. So, when you make strides in the change process, reward yourself! This is how you will sustain all change efforts and step up to the REINFORCEMENT stage of the ADKAR model. Remember that change is a process and every single step in the ADKAR process is a milestone worth celebrating. I encourage you to participate meaningfully in the change management process as we progress through each step of the ADKAR model. In the end, we may all be better off with a new and revitalised SANSA. - Arulan Pillay

SANSA has adopted a new business model with a focus on sustainability and increased commercialisation. The agency. This new business mod- el is accompanied by a new structure to support its requirements. To help facilitate this change, a change management process was instituted. The methodology adopt- ed for this process is called ADKAR. It is something that each of us will be going through over the next 18 months. Now, where are you in the ADKAR process? It is fairly easy to find out where you are in the change management process. Review each step of the ADKAR model below and carefully think about the description of each model to give yourself a fair rating. AWARENESS refers to the information you have about internal and external change drivers. Do you understand the nature of the change SANSA is undertaking? Do you understand why

lack of change? If you answered “no” to any of these three questions, feel free to chat to change management champions and/or the appointed consultants. The second step in the ADKAR model is DESIRE – a state where you make a personal choice to change or be influenced by change. Are you willing to support and engage in the change process? Are you motivated or discouraged by change? If your answer to these two questions is an emphatic “yes”, congratulations on showing positive behaviours towards change! At the KNOWLEDGE stage you possess the necessary information, training and education to know how to change. In other words, you have the “behaviours, processes, tools and systems, skills and techniques required to implement the necessary change”. Again, if you are in doubt, ask.

SANSA is changing? Do you understand the risks associated with

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HBK CHAT

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Across 4. Change management process. 5. You have the behaviours, processes, tools and systems, skills and techniques required to implement the necessary change. 6. A state where you make a personal choice to change or be influenced by change. 7. Information you have about internal and external change drivers. 9. Equals action. 10. Sustain all change efforts.

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Down 1. Project management guidelines. 2. Not easy but necessary. 3. LLB graduate. 8. Responsibility of all employees.

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CONTACT Get in touch with the right SANSA department SANSA Space Operations

(T) 012 334 5000 | (F) 027 12 334 5001 | (E) spaceops-info@sansa.org.za Physical Address: Farm No 502 JQ, Hartebeesthoek, District Krugersdorp Postal Address: PO Box 484, Silverton, 0127, Gauteng, South Africa Coordinates: -25.887792565694944 | 27.708516947860744

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