South Africa to Lauch Third Satellite into Space This Month

Satellite ZA-Cuba

South Africa is expected to launch its third satellite into space this month. The satellite ZA-Cuba will join Sunsat and Sumbandla which was launched in 2009.

The satellite, designed by students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, will be ready for possible launch in late November, Science and Technology Department (DST) Director-General Phil Mjwara said at the World Space Week celebrations in Kimberley, the Free State Province.

"This is a small experimental tube satellite so it's a satellite which usually is built by students in partnership with universities and in this case Cape Peninsula University of Technology has been working on this small experimental satellite," Mjwara said.

The satellite's role is to fund research programs and to expose school children to the world of science, Lorenzo Raynard, of the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement, said at the same event.  "The purpose is to make sure that the public is provided with access to that research information... so we have been coordinating activities across the country to celebrate 'World Space Week' this year," Raynard said.

With the previous two satellites, ZA-Cuba is expected to form part of a new African satellite constellation, as part of a government drive to grow the country's share of the global market for small- to medium-sized space systems.

DST and the Department of Trade and Industry have urged the government to pursue satellite production in an effort to gain a share of the global manufacturing market.

In September, South Africa’s leading aerospace and defence manufacturer Denel began construction through its subsidiary Denel Spaceteq on EO-Sat1, “a multispectral, high-resolution earth observation satellite.”  The satellite will transmit data on agriculture, meteorological studies and assist in preparedness during natural disasters.

Image credit: SABC.co.za