Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS)

What is SEDS?

SEDS stands for “Students for the Exploration and Development of Space”. The purpose of SEDS
is to promote Space exploration and development through educational and engineering projects.
SEDS USA was started in 1980 by MIT, Princeton and Yale students including Peter Diamandis,
who later founded the X Prize foundation. The SEDS USA website is SEDS.org.
SEDS primarily consists of groups of university students and high school students. SEDS is a
chapter-based organization, with each chapter running their own independent operations and
projects but meeting together as SEDS Earth. SEDS chapters include SEDS India, SEDS Canada,
SEDS Sri Lanka, SEDS Zimbabwe, UK SEDS, and SEDS South Africa. Each chapter consists
of local branches.

What is SEDS South Africa?

SEDS South Africa is South Africa's national, independent student Space society, and is the
governing body of all SEDS branches in South Africa. It is a member of the voluntary grouping of
SEDS Earth. SEDS South Africa is a non-profit founded in 2020, with the aim of facilitating the collaboration of students in South Africa with the global SEDS chapters and with the local Space industry
stakeholders. SEDS South Africa also fosters collaboration between local branches, through events
and projects.

What are the goals of SEDS South Africa?

1. to promote the exploration and development of Space;
2. to foster a community of students of all backgrounds and disciplines interested in Space;
3. to create opportunities for those students to interact with and learn from each other and professionals in the Space sector;
4. to coordinate the efforts of students in each of the individual SEDS nationwide branches who are interested in promoting space exploration and development;
5. to educate students and the general public about the benefits of space exploration and development including to life on Earth;
6. to promote hands-on opportunities that empower students to contribute to Space exploration and development;
7. to participate and contribute, together with other international SEDS Chapters as established in individual nations around the world, to SEDS Earth activities;
8. to serve as the national contact point for all SEDS Earth activities.

What are SEDS South Africa Activities?

SEDS South Africa branches organise most of their local events, and then SEDS South Africa
facilitates the interaction and participation of other SEDS South Africa branches, and SEDS Earth
events. Some of the activities of SEDS South Africa branches could include, but are not limited to:

• building and launching small satellites (cansats, pocketqubes, cubesats)
• astronomy
• licensing and operating ham amateur radio (satnogs satellite ground stations)
• model rocketry
• local and international collaborations (such as SEDS Earth and SEDS chapters)
• Space law (Artemis Accords, Space treaties etc)
• Hackathons like the NASA Space Apps Challenge
• SEDS Talks
• Mars analogue missions
• data analysis of Earth Observation and satellite data, including ML and AI
• manufacturing in Space
• Space technology to benefit humankind.