Kaya 959 News Reporter
South Africa is the first country on the African continent to launch nano-satellites into orbit.
Three maritime-focused nano-satellites will be launched into orbit this afternoon.
This will happen in Cape Canaveral in the United States at 5.25pm.
These nano-satellites are the first to be developed entirely on the African continent.
The satellites are part of the Department of Science and Innovation’s Maritime Awareness Satellite constellation.
The constellation will have 9 nano-satellites in total and will be used to “detect, identify and monitor vessels in near real-time in support of South African maritime domain awareness”
Dr Blade Nzimande described the launch as a significant milestone for South Africa.
“This will further cement South Africa’s position as an African leader in small satellite development, and help the country to capture a valuable share of a niche market in the fast-growing global satellite value chain.”
Advancements in the space industry by South Africa reveals a gap in skills required.
To bridge this gap, the CubeSat programme was developed at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
The CuberSat programme seeks to remedy the lack of professionals and skills in the industry.
“As part of this programme, students are taught engineering principles using CubeSats as training tools.”
“CubeSats are built using the same engineering principles as any other satellite, hence highly specialised and advanced skills are acquired through this programme,” said Nzimande.
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