South African authorities are getting a gauge on public opinion on the country’s space program.

 South African authorities are getting in on the action, using the micro-blogging site to gauge public opinion on important matters -- most notably, the country’s space program.

South Africa’s National Space Agency is reaching out to citizens via Twitter, asking for input on what its agenda should focus on over the next 20 years.

South Africa's space agency is also engaging citizens face-to-face, aiming to create an all-round robust public discussion on its planned space program.

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

Sources:
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