SOUTH AFRICA: Microsatellite venture turns Soweto-born student into rocket engineer

Record ID: 455090

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: Microsatellite venture turns Soweto-born student into rocket engineer
  • Date: 30th September 2009
  • Summary: STELLENBOSCH, SOUTH AFRICA (SEPTEMBER 30, 2009) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF UNIVERSITY OF STELLENBOSCH, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT BUILDING UNIVERSITY OF STELLENBOSCH SUNSAT SIGN ABOVE REPLICA OF SATELLITE SCREEN SHOWING SUMBANDILA SATELLITE FOOT PRINT OVER AFRICAN CONTINENT SUNSPACE TEAM LEADER FOR ASSEMBLY OF SUMBANDILA SATELLITE, KHALID MANJOO, LOOKING AT COMPUTER SCREEN AT MISSION CONTROL VARIOUS OF SATELLITE DATA ON SCREEN SATELLITE SYSTEMS ENGINEER WORKING ON COMPUTER SATELLITE DATA ON SCREEN ENGINEERS AT MISSION CONTROL DATA ON SCREEN VARIOUS OF SUNSAT CHIEF SYSTEMS ENGINEER JAN-ALBERT KOEKEMOER WORKING ON COMPUTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) SUNSAT CHIEF SYSTEMS ENGINEER, JAN-ALBERT KOEKEMOER, SAYING "The satellite passes over our ground station here in Stellenbosch about 4 to 5 times a day and during each of those passes we have an opportunity to communicate with the satellite and during more or less a 10 minute window and during that 10 minute window we have to send up new commands to the satellite to program the satellite for specific modes or tasks that it has to execute and also have the opportunity to download telemetry data from the satellite during those same passes to make sure the health of the satellite is still ok." MANJOO AND ENGINEERS LOOKING AT SCREENS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SUNSPACE TEAM LEADER FOR ASSEMBLY OF SUMBANDILA SATELLITE, KHALID MANJOO SAYING "Sumbandila Sat started off as a technology demonstrator but also at the same time, it had an internship running to build the capacity in the disadvantaged, underprivileged and the black communities and so Sumbandila also alongside it runs this outreach program where we are trying to get as many young black professionals, young black engineers, students, and not only black but also the entire South Africa, get them excited about this and also show them that we can work together towards making space a reality in our country." VARIOUS OF SUNSPACE ELECTRICAL ENGINEER, JESSE NDABA WORKING ON REPLICA OF SUMBANDILA SATELLITE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SUNSPACE ELECTRICAL ENGINEER, JESSE NDABA, SAYING: "It was just my interest, my dream, but I never thought it will materialise one day so when I saw an ad in the newspaper about the space internship, I just said well, this is designed for me, this is me, its just meant for me because this is what I've always wanted." NDABA WORKING AT SUMABNDILA SATELLITE REPLICA
  • Embargoed: 15th October 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Science / Technology,Space
  • Reuters ID: LVA9IHI0FBWKNUEXH51DHFXXOAVL
  • Story Text: A Stellenbosch based SunSpace & Information Systems company -- which designed South Africa's 3.5 million dollar satellite Sumbandila in Kazakhstan -- has been conducting it's mission control since it's launch earlier this month.
    "The satellite passes over our ground station here in Stellenbosch about 4 to 5 times a day, and during each of those passes we have an opportunity to communicate with the satellite and during more or less a 10 minute window and during that 10 minute window we have to send up new commands to the satellite to program the satellite for specific modes or tasks that it has to execute and also have the opportunity to download telemetry data from the satellite during those same passes to make sure the health of the satellite is still ok," explained Jan-Albert Koekemoer, the chief systems engineer at SunSpace.
    Sumbandila which mean "show the way" in South Africa's Venda language, was successfully launched on September 17 by the Russian space agency Roscosmos, after the launch was postponed twice.
    The project was awarded to SunSpace in conjunction with the University of Stellenbosch by the South African Department of Science and Technology.
    "Sumbandila Sat started off as a technology demonstrator but also at the same time, it had an internship running to build the capacity in the disadvantaged, underprivileged and the black communities and so Sumbandila also alongside it runs this outreach program where we are trying to get as many young black professionals, young black engineers, students, and not only black but also the entire South Africa, get them excited about this and also show them that we can work together towards making space a reality in our country," added Khalid Manjoo, who helped to assemble Sumbadila.
    For Jesse Ndaba, an electrical engineer at Sunsapace, working on the project was a dream come true.
    "It was just my interest, my dream, but I never thought it will materialise one day so when I saw an ad in the newspaper about the space internship, I just said well, this is designed for me, this is me, its just meant for me because this is what I've always wanted," she said.
    According to the department of Science and Technology, its mission is to collect data for use in the management of natural disasters like floods, fires and oil spills in southern Africa.
    Orbiting at a height of 500 km, it will also be able to measure temperatures at sea and land, clouds, rainfall, winds, sea levels, ice cover, vegetation and gases SumbandilaSat is South Africa's second satellite, after the launch of SunSat 1, built by the students and faculty of Stellenbosch University in 1999.
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