SumbandilaSat

SumbandilaSat (sometimes just Sumbandila, formerly ZASAT-002, AMSAT designation SO-67^[3][4]), was a South African micro Earth observation satellite, launched on 17 September 2009 on a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.^[5] The first part of the name, Sumbandila, is from the Venda language and means "lead the way".

SumbandilaSat

Mission type	Technology
Operator	University of Stellenbosch
COSPAR ID	2009-049F
SATCAT no.	35870
Mission duration	3 years (planned); 1 year and 9 months (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	SunSpace
Launch mass	81 kilograms (179 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	17 September 2009, 15:55:07 (2009-09-17UTC15:55:07Z) UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-2-1b/Fregat
Launch site	Baikonur Site 31/6
End of mission
Disposal	Damaged by solar storm
Last contact	14 September 2011 (2011-09-15)
Decay date	10 December 2021[1]
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	447.7 kilometres (278.2 mi)[2]
Apogee altitude	449.8 kilometres (279.5 mi)[2]
Inclination	97.1 degrees[2]
Period	93.4 minutes[2]
Epoch	24 May 2015[2]

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 was part of a closely integrated South African space programme and served as a research tool to investigate the viability of affordable space technology. Furthermore, the data was 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 it has been written off as a loss by SunSpace, its builder.^[6] The final data packet from the satellite was received on 14 September 2011.^[7]

Launch site

The launch site was the Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-31/6, which is located at the following coordinates:

• 45°59′48″N 63°33′50″E

Satellite specifications

General satellite specifications

Item	Specification
Imager	NER < 0.6% with a forward motion compensation (FMC) factor of 4:1
	Operational MTF: >= 5% over the full field (excluding orbit motion effects)
	GSD = 6.25m @ an orbit altitude of 500 km
	6 spectral band (visible range) line scanner
	Matrix sensor included for "snapshot" pictures
	Image quantisation: 12-bit (data for each pixel stored as 2 bytes)
Image modes	Default scan mode with FMC = 4:1 but system could operate with FMC = 1:1 with consequent degradation in NER
	In FMC = 4:1 mode, non-contiguous scenes of 45 km x 45 km could be imaged (max 10 scenes in 6 spectral bands before data downloading was required)
	In FMC = 1:1 mode, a contiguous strip with 45 km swath could be imaged (max track length of 450 km could be imaged in 6 spectral bands before data downloading was required)
Imager data store	24 Gbyte
Image data downlink	Expected frequency implemented on satellite exploration S-band
	Link margin: 3 dB @ 10° (calculated with 0dBi satellite antenna; 5W Tx power and SAC GS parameters)
	Data rate sufficient to download full image data store during two night passes
	No real-time downloading of images (all images stored on board the satellite)
Viewfinder	Live downlinking of PAL video images during TT&C ground station passes
	PAL images selectable between B&W (narrow FOV) and two wider FOV colour PAL cameras
	Satellite bore-sight steerable with "joystick" interface
	Viewfinder mode could be interrupted with either image snapshot or image linescan modes upon ground command
	The bore-sight direction of the viewfinder was the same as the main imager
ADCS system	The satellite was 3-axis stabilised
	System performance was sufficient to maintain pointing accuracy for image downloading
	ADCS performance did not degrade image quality
	The satellite bore-sight could be controlled to within 3 km on the ground
	The intended system implementation used a combination of the following actuators and sensors: Horizon, fine-Sun, coarse-Sun sensors; star camera; magnetometer(s); fibre-optic gyros; reaction wheels and magneto torquers
	A satellite slew manoeuvre from one stabilised position to another stabilised position, through an angle of 30°, could be completed in less than 1 minute
Propulsion System	Sufficient propellant included to maintain a satisfactory orbit for 3–4 years
	System was to demonstrate orbit constellation deployment as well as orbit maintenance
TT&C Communication Link	Expected frequencies implemented on commercial VHF uplink and UHF downlink
	Link margin: 6 dB @ 5° (calculated with -12dBi satellite antenna null; 5W Tx power and 12dBi GS antenna gain)
Satellite Housekeeping	One TT&C GS pass per 24h was sufficient for the purpose of monitoring telemetry and uploading of new command sets and SW
Power	Energy source: solar panel with 65W (EOL) capacity
	Mission planning dictated energy requirements per orbit
Experiments	Provision was made for two 1-kg experiments
	SU certified the space environmental readiness of the experiments at MC level prior to integration
	Average power available per experiment: 1.2W (TBC)
	Peak power available per experiment: 10W (TBC)
Orbit lifetime	Design lifetime of 3 years at an orbit altitude of 500 km (subject to average Sun activity)
	Given the ultimate unpredictability of the space environment, the operational life varied from the design lifetime

* Courtesy of SunSpace

On-board experiments

It had a number of secondary experimental payloads on board:^[3]

• Stellenbosch University — Architectural radiation experiment for commercial off the shelf devices and a software defined radio project.
• Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University — A forced vibrating string experiment.
• University of KwaZulu-Natal — Very low frequency (VLF) radio experiment.
• SA AMSAT — 2m/70 cm amateur radio transponder, parrot repeater and a voice beacon. The AMSAT designation of this payload is SO-67.

See also

• Spaceflight portal

• SUNSAT, first South African satellite