South African astronomy started an important journey two decades ago, when an initiative to attract and train future scientists in the field welcomed its first group of students under the National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme.
World class facilities have been established during this period, the most notable of which are the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) and the MeerKAT radio telescope, a precursor to the international Square Kilometre Array. They add to the South African Astronomical Observatory and Hartebeesthoek Radio Observatory which existed already.
