Siyabulela Lethuxolo Xuza, South African energy-engineering expert, entrepreneur, and founder of the investment firm Galactic Energy Ventures, has a minor planet named after him in the main asteroid belt near Jupiter.
Xuza, born in 1989 in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, began experimenting with rocket fuels in his mother’s kitchen, where he nurtured his curiosity for science.
According to the South African presidency, Xuza’s passion evolved into a significant scientific project, leading him to develop a cheaper, safer rocket fuel.
This endeavour resulted in the successful launch of his home-built rocket, named The Phoenix.
The rocket reached a height of over one kilometre, earning him the junior South African amateur high-powered altitude record.
The rocket was powered by Xuza’s innovative invention, titled “African Space: Fuelling Africa’s Quest for Space.”
Xuza’s science project earned a gold medal at the National Science Expo and received the Dr Derek Gray Memorial Award for the most prestigious project in South Africa.
As a result of his achievements, he was invited to the International Youth Science Fair in Sweden in 2006, where he presented his project to the King and Queen of Sweden and attended a Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm.
His project was subsequently entered into the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s largest student science competition, which featured around 1,500 students from 52 countries.
Xuza, who was a matric student on a scholarship at St John’s College in Johannesburg at the time, won two awards at this event, gaining global recognition and earning a scholarship to Harvard University.
In 2010, he was elected as a fellow of the African Leadership Network, a premier organisation of individuals poised to shape Africa’s future over the next 10 to 20 years.
This network consists of some of the most dynamic, influential, and successful leaders and entrepreneurs in Africa and its diaspora.
Reaching for the stars
Siyabulela has travelled to the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to engage in discussions about creating prosperity for Africa.
In 2011, he became a fellow of the Kairos Society, a global network of top students and leaders who use entrepreneurship and innovation to tackle the world’s greatest challenges.
He was invited to the United Nations and the New York Stock Exchange in recognition of his status as one of the world’s emerging business leaders, where he offered strategies for addressing the global energy crisis.
He graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science in 2013.
In 2017, Xuza was honoured with the Order of Mapungubwe Silver award by the South African government.
This award recognised his outstanding achievements in science and innovation, as well as his efforts in promoting South African excellence on the international stage.
Recently, Xuza became the youngest member of the AU-affiliated Africa 2.0 Energy Advisory Panel.
He was invited to Mombasa, Kenya, to help find sustainable solutions to some of the most pressing economic and social issues facing Africa today.
Additionally, he is an accomplished Xhosa praise singer, and in 2003, he had the honour of performing a praise song for former President Nelson Mandela.
He received the prestigious accolade of having a minor planet named after him by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration-affiliated Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory, in recognition of his innovation in homemade rocket fuel.
The minor planet, located in the main asteroid belt near Jupiter and discovered in 2000, was renamed “23182 Siyaxuza” in honour of Xuza’s achievements at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in the United States.
