Jul 29 1994
From The Space Library
NASA agreed to launch in January 1996 South Africa's first satellite, Sunsat, which was developed at Stellenbosch University near Cape Town. A four-member NASA team evaluated the Stellenbosch project and offered the university a free launch in return for minor additions of U.S. equipment. Stellenbosch project leader Garth Milne said the satellite would deliver high-resolution multispectral stereo images of the Earth and would carry amateur radio equipment that would allow children to talk to the satellite. NASA structural engineer Marisa Achee said NASA was keen to launch Sunsat because it could carry a U.S. Global Positioning System receiver and a laser reflector needed to monitor variations in the Earth's gravitational field. The university was scheduled to control the satellite during its four-year life. (Reuters, Jul 29/94)
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