* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Sumbandila satellite

Blobrana · L

Russia will launch the Sumbandila satellite for the Republic of South Africa from a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea, in May 2007.

"This year, Russia will conduct a series of satellite launches on behalf of foreign countries using ballistic missiles onboard a submarine" - Vladimir Masorin, Navy commander.

Sumbandila will be used to provide early warning of natural calamities and man-caused disasters.

Blobrana · L

South Africa will launch the SUMBANDILA low earth orbit satellite in May.
SUMBANDILA is to be launched from a submarine off the coast of Russia. Once in orbit, it will pass over South Africa mid- morning and mid-evening at an average orbit altitude of 500 km, according to Mosibudi Mangena, South African Science and Technology Minister.

Blobrana · L

South Africa plans to launch a low earth orbiting satellite in December this year for disaster monitoring and other purposes, the country's announced on Monday.

The satellite, named Sumbandila which in local Tshivenda language means "Lead the way," will be launched from a submarine in Russia. The name Sumbandila was among the more than 3 000 entries received in a national competition that was initiated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and implemented through the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) earlier this year.
This is part of a three-year capacity building and satellite development project initiated by the DST, which is also expected to result in an increase in satellite engineering.
The program, costing 26 million rand,"will provide South Africa affordable access to space technology as well as useful data".
It will demonstrate that high resolution remote sensing can be done with a satellite as small as Sumbandila -- a mass of approximately 80 kg, about 1.8 meters long and rotating about 500km from the earth.

"Sumbandila will serve as a research tool to support, amongst other things, the monitoring and management of disasters like the extent of floods, oil spills and fires" - Science and Technology Ministry statement.

The DST sees this as the beginning of a long-term space program which forms an integral part of South Africa's continued activities in the global project called the Group on Earth Observation.
The satellite is currently under construction in Stellenbosch, Western Cape Province.
South Africa's Cabinet last week approved the establishment of the South African Space Agency, which is tasked to coordinate and implement the country's national space science and technology programs.

Source Xinhua

-- Edited by Blobrana at 10:55, 2006-08-02