SpaceX is launching a series of small South African satellites into orbit on Thursday night, Jan. 13, assisting in the development of infrastructure to monitor ships off SA's coast.
In sending its third satellite into orbit, The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) is preparing immensely about it.
At 5:25 p.m. South African time, SpaceX, which was established by Pretoria native Elon Musk, will have another SpaceX launch from the Cape Canaveral launch site in the United States.
SpaceX launch Today
The Department of Science and Innovation has mandated the Marine Domain Awareness (MDASat) constellation, which is made up of three locally constructed nanosatellites, to increase South Africa's ocean sovereignty.
It will have two key priorities: ocean economics and health care.
Nyameko Royi, the project's interim chief engineer, stated via IOL that the mission will be the first constellation of satellites conceived and planned in Africa, and that this is a pivotal moment for South Africa.
He then added that the more individuals are active in space exploration, the better, and the more data extracted from space, the better for the globe.
Transporter-3 or ISILaunch 36P is the name of this SpaceX mission and will utilize the Falcon 9 rocket.
Minister Blade Nzimande stated that the introduction of a Master's in Electrical Engineering focusing on satellite systems.
The lack of space professionals and engineers had prompted the department and the National Research Foundation (NRF) to initiate a human capital development program at CPUT under the French South African Institute of Technology cube satellite program.
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Space Mission
As reported in Business Insider, the launch window for SpaceX's Transporter-3 mission, its third "rideshare" into low Earth orbit, SpaceX launches at 17:25 South African time.
On Friday, there is a backup window at the same hour.
It is scheduled to release the three components of the MDASat-1 constellation, which were built by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
Proud 🇿🇦 moment: 3 South African satellites, built by our team (my colleagues) in Cape Town, are being launched by @SpaceX on a Falcon 9 launch vehicle this Thursday, the 13th. Fingers crossed, Mr @elonmusk !! #Transporter3 #falcon9 #SpaceX #satellites #CubeSat #ISILaunch36P
— Ian van Zyl (@HabibiSouth) January 11, 2022
These satellites are named after the Maritime Domain Awareness project, which will use the Automatic Identification System (AIS) radio system to monitor ships in South Africa's exclusive economic zone.
South Africa currently relies on AIS data from third-party overseas sources.
Changing that became a goal under Operation Phakisa, the government's drive to better economically leverage the waters.
South Africa's Nanosatellite
SA Minister Blade Nzimande stated that ZACube-2 has provided cutting-edge and very high-frequency data interchange communication systems to the country's maritime industry since its introduction in 2018.
The minister further added that the department had committed $1.7 million in the MDASat constellation over three years.
According to Business Day, the launch of the most advanced SA nanosatellite yet, ZACube-2, as a technology demonstrator for the MDASat constellation three years ago signifies the beginning of Thursday's space adventure.
Musk's SpaceX said it was prepping a Falcon 9 launch of Transporter-3 to orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
According to SpaceX, Transporter-3 is the company's third dedicated rideshare mission, with 105 spacecraft, including CubeSats, microsats, PocketQubes, and orbital transfer vehicles on board.
