Altitude climb: Russia to begin training astronauts from South Africa
South Africa plans to launch a joint cosmonaut training program with Russia as early as 2027, the head of the country's space agency told Izvestia. Roscosmos confirmed to Izvestia that they are ready to help partners from South Africa in the selection and training of candidates. Russia actively cooperates with African countries in this area. Satellites for Algeria, Angola, Nigeria, and Tunisia are being launched from our launch sites. And in Egypt, with the assistance of Roscosmos, the headquarters of the African Space Agency was opened. Why African countries rely on Russia in the development of near—Earth space and what kind of competition our country has to withstand in this area is in the Izvestia article.
Russia to train astronauts from South Africa
The Republic of South Africa intends to send its first cosmonaut into orbit with the assistance of Russia - preparations will begin as early as 2027, the head of the national Space Agency (SANSA), Humbulani Mudau, told Izvestia.
— We are currently working on an astronaut training program. As soon as we complete its development, the recruitment of candidates will begin," he said. — I hope that this program will be finalized within the next year, and we will have an offer for our partners such as Russia and China.
According to him, the training of astronauts is included in the agreement between Roscosmos and SANSA, negotiations on this issue have been underway for the past two years.
"We are ready to cooperate with our South African partners in the selection and training of cosmonaut candidates within the agreed time frame and on mutually beneficial terms," Roscosmos confirmed to Izvestia.
South Africa's national space program was launched 15 years ago. By the standards of the USSR and the USA projects, this is a very short period of time, but it is rapidly gaining momentum. South Africa is now considered one of the leading "space" countries in Africa. In 2025, it launched 13 satellites, and about 20 local engineering companies are creating space components and systems.
And South Africa is ready to reach a new level. In the SANSA strategy, the priority areas of development until 2030 include building up the industrial base, developing its own satellites and technologies, as well as closer international cooperation.
Humbulani Mudau stressed that South Africa was one of the first countries to join the Russian-Chinese project to create an International Scientific Lunar Station (ISS). Pretoria immediately saw this as an opportunity to accelerate its participation in space research and build up its own experience in this field.
The head of SANSA outlined further ambitious plans, in particular, South Africa wants to be the first African country to send a female astronaut into orbit. In addition, the republic will participate in the Chang'e-8 project. This Chinese robotic mission will launch in 2028, it is aimed at exploring the south pole of the Moon and creating the technical basis for the future MNLS.
The antenna complex of the Mission Control Center of the National Space Agency of South Africa (SANSA)
Cosmonaut training is not the only joint project between Russia and South Africa. The countries are collaborating on the PanEOS project to track space debris. Our country has a lot to offer South Africa in the areas that it is currently actively developing, such as satellite monitoring and the creation of a ground—based infrastructure for a space project.
How Russia is helping Africa to explore space
South Africa is not the only African country with which Russia is developing space cooperation. The first Algerian AlSAT-1 satellite was launched back in 2002 from the Plesetsk cosmodrome on a Russian Kosmos-3M rocket. The Nigerian NigeriaSat-1 was launched from there in 2003. Relatively recently, the first Tunisian satellite Challenge ONE and Angolan devices were launched from Baikonur. Russia participated in the creation of the Angolan satellite AngoSat-2, helped in the construction of its control center and staff training.
In 2025, representatives of Roscosmos took part in the opening of the headquarters of the African Space Agency and signed a memorandum with this organization involving consultations on launches, cooperation in scientific research and the possible participation of African astronauts in future missions.
In Africa, Russia is preferred as a reliable partner in the space sector, including for political reasons, experts believe. Many countries in the region, in particular South Africa, have a long history of cooperation with our country since the Soviet period. Mutual respect and absence of the colonial past create the basis for trusting relations even today, said Sergey Tolkachev, professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.
However, this does not mean that Russia has no competitors. The main thing in the space industry now is to launch cargo into orbit as cheaply as possible, said Peter Punchenko, senior lecturer at St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation. And, according to him, Russia is still lagging behind in this: the United States has already learned how to partially return and use missiles again, while China is rapidly moving in this direction.
Sergei Tolkachev drew attention to the fact that the budgets of the space programs of the USA, the EU and China exceed the Russian one.
"This allows them to invest in larger and more advanced projects and conduct more scientific missions. In addition, the United States is actively developing "private" space flights from Musk's SpaceX and Bezos' Blue Origin. This sector is not so developed in Russia," said the professor.
But Russia still has significant competitive advantages. Russian launch vehicles (for example, Soyuz, Proton) have proven themselves to be reliable and affordable means for launching payloads into orbit, emphasizes Sergey Tolkachev. This is critically important for cash-strapped African countries that want to deploy their own satellite groups. In addition, the Russian Federation can help in the design, construction and launch of satellites adapted specifically to the needs of African countries. These can be devices for remote sensing of the Earth, as well as for covering remote regions with the Internet, Tolkachev noted.
— In addition, African countries need personnel and infrastructure. This is where Russia can offer a clear alternative to the EU, the United States, and China. Russia's strong point is personnel training, engineering school, work with space stations, flight experience and willingness to transfer it to partners," added Pyotr Punchenko.
Russia has really strong educational programs in this area: there are scholarships, internships and training for African students and future specialists in the space industry. Countries in the region can also access data collected by Russian satellites. This includes, for example, up-to-date information about the climate, the state of forests, and marine resources, Sergei Tolkachev noted.
Thus, Russia is able to offer turnkey integrated solutions: from design and launch to staff training and data provision.
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