The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has secured a general date for the launch of its Sumbandila satellite. Following several delays, the department says the satellite will be launched between July and August.
While the exact date is yet to be set, the department says the satellite will be shipped to Russia in preparation for its launch. DST spokesman Nhlanhla Nyide says the Sumbandilasat will be exported to Russia on 4 June and arrive in Moscow on 10 June. It will then be shipped to Baikanour on 17 June for integration onto the Soyuz launch vehicle.
If the satellite is launched, it will mark the conclusion of a tumultuous relationship with Russian space station Roskosmos. The space project, which was announced in October 2005, by previous science and technology minister Mosibudi Mangena, has been delayed for two years.
The DST previously stated the Russian station was responsible for the delays - citing clashing administrative schedules as the cause for the several setbacks. The department also stated it would consider other launch partners if Russia failed to provide an early launch date.
The initiative forms part of the DST's three-year, R26 million integrated capacity-building and satellite development project. Scheduled to run from 2005 until 2008, the project involved the procurement of a mission-ready satellite, research and capacity-building.
The 81kg low-earth orbiting micro satellitewill generate imagery through its remote sensing camera and will form an important part of the country's earth observation activities. Once in orbit, Sumbandilasatwill pass over SA at an average orbit altitude of 500km.
The images yielded by the satellite will be used for flood and fire disaster management; enhancing food security through crop yield estimation; the prediction of the outbreaks of diseases; monitoring of land cover and use; and water resource management.
Sumbandilasat will be the second satellite to be launched by government after the SUNSAT 1 - a satellite built by students and lecturers at Stellenbosch University in 1999. Sumbandilasat was built by SunSpace and Information Systems.
The University of Stellenbosch will be responsible for managing the project, while the Satellite Application Centre will be tasked with operations, telemetry, tracking, control, as well as data capturing. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research will be responsible for its mission control.
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