National
Grade 9 learner names SA's first nano-satellite─── 11:07 Thu, 21 Nov 2013
Cape Town - Tshepiso is the chosen name of South Africa's first nano-satellite, code named ZACUBE-1, designed by CPUT students,that launched into space from the Yasny base in Russia at 09:10 South African time today.
Meaning ‘a Promise' in Tswana, Tshepiso was the choice of Chachane Kgothalang, a grade 9 learner of Bethel Junior Secondary School in Matatiele, Eastern Cape.
The winning name was among the entries received in a national competition launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and managed by the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) earlier this year.
The competition called on all learners from grade 9 to 12 to become part of South Africa's space programme by giving the cube satellite a truly African name.
According to Dr Jabulani Nukeri, MD for SAASTA the purpose of the competition was to create awareness of the cube satellite and give learners an opportunity to contribute to the space science and technology programme.
Dr Nukeri, handed over the prizes at the launch. Kgothalang, who attended the live streaming of the launch of the satellite in Cape Town, receives a tablet computer and a voucher for laboratory equipment for her school as the prize and will visit the South African Space Agency (SANSA) site at Houwteq near Grabouw and will be accompanied by her educator, on the trip.
Professor Robert van Zyl, director of the F-SATI programme explains that CubeSats are extremely small satellites in the form of 10 cm cubes and with a mass of up to 1 kg (although there are some made up of two or three such cubes).
"Originally developed in the US, they are becoming increasingly popular with universities and technology institutes around the world due to their considerable educational benefits," says van Zyl. "These tiny satellites have come a long way since Sputnik, the first satellite that was launched in 1957, weighing 83 kg. The success of the CubeSat programme has revolutionised space technology."
"CubeSats provide hands-on experience for engineers and technologists in their design and construction, and, once in orbit, the data needed to support scientific experiments and projects." He explains, "Tshepiso will be placed in orbit at an altitude of 600 km. Its main mission will be to gather data on space weather for SANSA. Space weather refers to the ever changing conditions on the Sun and in space that can affect technological systems on Earth or in space, or which could imperil human life or health."
Funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Tshepiso was designed and built by CPUT postgraduate students in collaboration with SANSA, following the CubeSat programme at the French South African Institute of Technology (F'SATI).
Van Zyl, says the strength of the CubeSat programme is its use of cube satellites as technology platforms for practical skills training and applied research. "This approach offers our students a unique learning experience and prepares them to participate in the South African space industry."
Established in 2009, the CubeSat programme has graduated 32 master's students, bringing to 42 the total number of F'SATI alumni at CPUT. The programme has also provided internships to 15 of the graduates as engineers-in-training.
The nano-satellite, designated "ZA-003" in the national register of space assets, follows in the footsteps of micro-satellites Sunsat and SumbandilaSat.
Cube satellites, or "cubesats", were originally developed in the United States in 1999 by California Polytechnic State University and Stanford University to help universities worldwide perform space science and exploration.
For more information visit: www.cput.ac.za or join the conversation on www.facebook.com/cput.ac.za or Twitter: @CPUT #ZACUBE1 #CubeSat #Tshepiso
The winning name was among the entries received in a national competition launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and managed by the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) earlier this year.
The competition called on all learners from grade 9 to 12 to become part of South Africa's space programme by giving the cube satellite a truly African name.
According to Dr Jabulani Nukeri, MD for SAASTA the purpose of the competition was to create awareness of the cube satellite and give learners an opportunity to contribute to the space science and technology programme.
Dr Nukeri, handed over the prizes at the launch. Kgothalang, who attended the live streaming of the launch of the satellite in Cape Town, receives a tablet computer and a voucher for laboratory equipment for her school as the prize and will visit the South African Space Agency (SANSA) site at Houwteq near Grabouw and will be accompanied by her educator, on the trip.
Professor Robert van Zyl, director of the F-SATI programme explains that CubeSats are extremely small satellites in the form of 10 cm cubes and with a mass of up to 1 kg (although there are some made up of two or three such cubes).
"Originally developed in the US, they are becoming increasingly popular with universities and technology institutes around the world due to their considerable educational benefits," says van Zyl. "These tiny satellites have come a long way since Sputnik, the first satellite that was launched in 1957, weighing 83 kg. The success of the CubeSat programme has revolutionised space technology."
"CubeSats provide hands-on experience for engineers and technologists in their design and construction, and, once in orbit, the data needed to support scientific experiments and projects." He explains, "Tshepiso will be placed in orbit at an altitude of 600 km. Its main mission will be to gather data on space weather for SANSA. Space weather refers to the ever changing conditions on the Sun and in space that can affect technological systems on Earth or in space, or which could imperil human life or health."
Funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Tshepiso was designed and built by CPUT postgraduate students in collaboration with SANSA, following the CubeSat programme at the French South African Institute of Technology (F'SATI).
Van Zyl, says the strength of the CubeSat programme is its use of cube satellites as technology platforms for practical skills training and applied research. "This approach offers our students a unique learning experience and prepares them to participate in the South African space industry."
Established in 2009, the CubeSat programme has graduated 32 master's students, bringing to 42 the total number of F'SATI alumni at CPUT. The programme has also provided internships to 15 of the graduates as engineers-in-training.
The nano-satellite, designated "ZA-003" in the national register of space assets, follows in the footsteps of micro-satellites Sunsat and SumbandilaSat.
Cube satellites, or "cubesats", were originally developed in the United States in 1999 by California Polytechnic State University and Stanford University to help universities worldwide perform space science and exploration.
For more information visit: www.cput.ac.za or join the conversation on www.facebook.com/cput.ac.za or Twitter: @CPUT #ZACUBE1 #CubeSat #Tshepiso
Sapa
