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SUNSAT
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Poised for launch in February 1999, South Africa's first locally-built satellite experienced the rigours of pre-flight preparation and delay.
When Thabo Mbeki spoke about an African Renaissance he envisaged an economic and cultural emergence for the African continent. SUNSAT could be the technological spearhead of that vision.
It's not much to look at - one pundit described it as a small refrigerator that had suffered an ugly fall from a delivery truck. But appearances can be deceiving.
SUNSAT may only weigh 64 kilograms, but in orbit, it's 800 kilometres above our heads, travelling at 27 000 kilometres an hour. Every 100 minutes it circles the earth from top to bottom. Not bad for a bar-fridge!
The principal payload is a high resolution camera that will take photographs of South Africa. By analysing the spectral content of these images, scientists are able to determine the type and density of ground vegetation.
Sias Mostert from SunSat Development explains, "This camera is a three colour camera, so it can look at green, red and Nero-infa red and if you want to look at agriculture and specifically at forestry then you need those three colours to be able to see the plants at their best. Resolution of the camera 15 metres per pixel and that is best understood that anything which is on the ground which is 15 metres in size or larger will be able to be seen by this camera.
SUNSAT is carrying other technology too. In return for a free launch, NASA was allowed to put a device inside the satellite. It's called a global positioning system receiver and it makes pinpoint measurements of the Earth's crust, helping NASA to keep track of the shifting sands beneath our feet.
There's also a digital "mailbox" on board that allows radio hams to store and retrieve messages from space.
But the real value of SUNSAT lies less in the technology and more in the skills that were required to build it. SUNSAT was designed and constructed at the University of Stellenbosch by postgraduate students. It's origin betrays the real significance of the project. SUNSAT is about education.
Professor Garith " Traditionally people view universities as places where people with white coats and thick glasses work with a pen holder and number of coloured pens in their pocket and can do nothing useful. We decided to change that image of the university by taking on a very challenging and practical project which has to work, so the students not only did their thesis as part as their training but also produced a product which will work outside in the vast space environment.
The experience gained by students has put them at the forefront of the engineering industry. The technology inside SUNSAT is state-of-the-art. The benefits are not restricted to a few fortunate postgrads who worked on these devices. The university has a school outreach program that seeks to promote and stimulate an interest in technology.
Jay Naido comments,"The key part of this building of satellite and its launch into space even though handled by hundreds of students and academics here at the university has extended technology awareness to 14 000 children in preciously disadvantaged areas they will be able to send messages to and from the satellite as it evolves around the earth. I think it has opened up a new horizon in the career parts of many young people and it is the first satellite we will be launching and if we want to be part of the cutting edge of new technology and part of this information revolution, then an understanding of space technology is important to take Africa into the 21st Century".
SUNSAT is just the first step into space, and the first step is usually the smallest. But it's up there, and for the first time it's made in Africa. One thing is for certain - technological martyrdom will not hasten the African Renaissance. For all its humble beginnings, SUNSAT is a taste of things to come.
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