Mission type Technology SATCAT no. 35870 Launch mass 81 kilograms (179 lb) | COSPAR ID 2009-049F Manufacturer SunSpace | |
Operator University of Stellenbosch | ||
SumbandilaSat (formerly ZASAT-002, AMSAT designation SO-67), is a South African micro earth observation satellite, launched on 17 September 2009 on a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The first part of the name, Sumbandila, is from the Venda language and means "lead the way".
Contents
The University of Stellenbosch, SunSpace and the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) were key players in constructing SumbandilaSat. The CSIR's Satellite Application Centre (CSIR-SAC) was responsible for operations, telemetry, tracking, control as well as data capturing.
SumbandilaSat is part of a closely integrated South African space programme and will serve as a research tool to investigate the viability of affordable space technology. Furthermore, the data will be used to, amongst others, monitor and manage disasters such as flooding, oil spills and fires within Southern Africa.
In June 2011 the satellite was damaged during a solar storm. The damage caused the on-board computer and the camera to stop functioning. This has caused it to stop fulfilling its primary objective and has been written off as a loss by SunSpace, its builder.
Launch site
The launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome is known as LC-31/6, and can be found in at the following coordinates:
Satellite specifications
* Courtesy of SunSpace
On-board experiments
It has a number of secondary experimental payloads on board: