The South African National Space Agency (Sansa) has learnt valuable lessons from the Sumbandila micro satellite programme. Sumbandila failed last year after operating in space for less than two years, a shorter time than hoped for. “Sumbandila was an experiment in using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components. In many respects it was a success,” Sansa space...
Tag Archives: space
South Africa is gaining ground in the development of space technology, especially in the field of micro and nano satellites, says South African Council for Space Affairs (Sacsa) chairperson Dr Peter Martinez. He is also at the National Research Foundation’s South African Astronomical Observatory and points out that, although the country has made major investments in...
The efficiency of solar panels has always been an issue. However, this might be about to change. The recent test carried out on solar satellites shows that it might actually be possible to transmit beams of energy from space to power cities on earth. Microwaves or laser beams could be used to send energy beams from floating solar panels in space. The initial objective...
BY ONE well-known (if fictitious) criterion, the purpose of a space programme is to boldly go where no man has gone before. China, however, has a different plan: to boldly go back where men have already been. Specifically, with the release on December 29th of an official space-policy paper, it has said it wants to send people to the moon. ...
