The Stellenbosch UNiversity SATellite or SUNSAT (COSPAR 1999-008C) was the first

miniaturized satellite A small satellite, miniaturized satellite, or smallsat is a satellite of low mass and size, usually under . While all such satellites can be referred to as "small", different classifications are used to categorize them based on mass. Satellites ca ...

designed and manufactured in South Africa. It was launched aboard a

Delta II Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000, and the two later Delta 7000 va ...

rocket from the

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg Sp ...

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 Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest ext ...

. Its

AMSAT AMSAT is a name for amateur radio satellite organizations worldwide, but in particular the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) with headquarters at Washington, D.C. AMSAT organizations design, build, arrange launches for, and then opera ...

designation was SO-35 (Sunsat Oscar 35). 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. It is predicted to reenter the atmosphere after about 30 years from launch.19. How long will SUNSAT stay operational?
SUNSAT(SO-35) FAQ

Specifications

* Size: 45 x 45 x 60 cm * Mass: 64 kg * Launcher: Delta II rocket, Mission P-91 * 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 Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency commu ...

communications ** Data interchange ** Stereo

multispectral image Multispectral imaging captures image data within specific wavelength ranges across the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelengths may be separated by Filter (optics), filters or detected with the use of instruments that are sensitive to particu ...

r *

Attitude control Attitude control is the process of controlling the orientation of an aerospace vehicle with respect to an inertial frame of reference or another entity such as the celestial sphere, certain fields, and nearby objects, etc. Controlling vehicle ...

: Gravity gradient and

magnetorquer A magnetorquer or magnetic torquer (also known as a torque rod) is a satellite system for attitude control, detumbling, and stabilization built from electromagnetic coils. The magnetorquer creates a magnetic dipole that interfaces with an ambient ma ...

reaction wheels A reaction wheel (RW) is used primarily by spacecraft for three-axis attitude control, and does not require rockets or external applicators of torque. They provide a high pointing accuracy, and are particularly useful when the spacecraft must be ...

when imaging * Accuracy: 3

mrad The Barrett MRAD (Multi-role Adaptive Design) is a bolt-action sniper rifle designed by Barrett to meet the requirements of the SOCOM PSR. The MRAD is based on the Barrett 98B and includes a number of modifications and improvements. The Barre ...

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 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

supplied capacitive sensors. * SSC 25636

Pushboom imager

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

References

* http://research.ee.sun.ac.za/sunsat/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20050414090039/http://esl.ee.sun.ac.za/projects/sunsat/news/20010201.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20051224163310/http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/n7hpr/so35.html Stellenbosch University Amateur radio satellites Spacecraft launched in 1999 Spacecraft launched by Delta II rockets First artificial satellites of a country Space program of South Africa {{SouthAfrica-stub