Article

SUNSAT - A Bright Idea

In February 1999, a US Air Force Delta II rocket launched a micro-satellite constructed almost entirely in Africa into a low earth orbit. Researchers and students at Stellenbosch University had worked for over seven years to realise their dream of building a satellite that would actually fly. 

The result, the 64-kilogram SUNSAT, is a credit to them all. It is a multipurpose satellite which continuously records high-resolution images of the Earth as it flies overhead at 27000 km/h, as well as having multiple radio communications and relaying capabilities, and carrying several scientific experiments. The images,  which show vegetation types particularly well, can be used by various agencies for planning, and radio amateurs have access to radio transponders aboard SUNSAT. 

The Stellenbosch team have used the success of SUNSAT as a springboard into space technology, and are now involved in various collaborations around the world. They have also used it to launch a wide-ranging scheme to get kids in South Africa more interested in science and technology, and they have so far reached over 40000 schoolchildren through the SUNSTEP programme, which is sponsored by MTN. SUNSAT even carries two experiments specifically designed for the satellite by African schoolchildren.

Not only is SUNSAT the only South African satellite, it is also the most complicated student-developed object in space! This amazing achievement has bolstered high-tech industries and institutions across the continent, and of course the creators of SUNSAT are already busy on SUNSAT-2. Watch this space!

Picture it: 
Enter here for example of SUNSAT picture. 

Links: 
SUNSAT: http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za 
SUNSTEP: http://www.sunstep.sun.ac.za 

For further information contact:
milne@firga.sun.ac.za  
schoonwi@firga.sun.ac.za 
mostert@firga.sun.ac.za 

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