SUNSAT

Short description: South African amateur radio satellite

The Stellenbosch UNiversity SATellite or SUNSAT (COSPAR 1999-008C) was the first miniaturized satellite designed and manufactured in South Africa.[1] It was launched aboard a Delta II rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base on 23 February 1999 to become the first launched South African satellite. Sunsat was built by post-graduate engineering students at the University of Stellenbosch. Its AMSAT designation was SO-35 (Sunsat Oscar 35).[2]

Last contact by ground control with SUNSAT was on 19 January 2001 and on 1 February 2001 the end of SUNSAT's functional life in orbit was announced. The satellite operated in orbit for nearly 2 years.[3]

It is predicted to reenter the atmosphere after about 30 years from launch.[4]

## Specifications

SUNSAT satellite specifications:[5]

* Size: 45 x 45 x 60 cm
* Mass: 64 kg
* Launcher: Delta II rocket, Mission P-91[6]
* Program cost: US $5M (Approximate); the launch was free of charge as SUNSAT was orbited as a secondary payload. The primary payload of the launch was ARGOS, and the Danish Orsted satellite was another secondary payload.
* Planned lifetime: 4–5 years (NiCad Battery pack life)
* Main payloads:
* Amateur radio communications
* Data interchange
* Stereo multispectral imager
* Attitude control: Gravity gradient and magnetorquers, reaction wheels when imaging
* Accuracy: 3 mrad pitch/roll, 6 mrad yaw
* 2 Micro Particle Impact Detectors were included as part of experiments conducted in orbit
* A team (Zaahied Cassim and Rashid Mohamed) from Peninsula Technikon designed and built circuits for both their own piezo film technology and NASA supplied capacitive sensors.
* SSC 25636[7]

### Pushboom imager

* Ground pixel size: 15 m x 15 m
* Image width: 51.8 km

## References

1. ↑ "South African Satellites". South African National Space Agency. http://atlas.sansa.org.za/atlas-sa_satellites.html.
2. ↑ "SUNSAT-OSCAR 35". http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/n7hpr/so35.html.
3. ↑ "The End of SUNSAT's Functional Life in Orbit". 1 February 2001. https://research.ee.sun.ac.za/sunsat/news/20010201.html#en.
4. ↑ 19\. How long will SUNSAT stay operational?, SUNSAT(SO-35) FAQ
5. ↑ "SUNSAT (Stellenbosch University Satellite)". Jun 14, 2012. https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/sunsat#rf-communications.
6. ↑ "Delta II 7920-10 (P91-1ARGOS), Ørsted and SUNSAT". https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/1627.
7. ↑ Peat, Chris (5 December 2013). "SUNSAT - Orbit". Heavens Above. http://www.heavens-above.com/orbit.aspx?satid=25636. Retrieved 6 December 2013.

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