third time lucky for sumbandila satellite
17 Sep 2009 Leave a Comment
in south africa Tags: satellite, science, south africa
South Africa’s Sumbandila satellite has finally been launched this afternoon. It was the third attempt at launching the Soyuz-2 rocket with the satellite, which cost R26 million (£2m) to produce.
Sumbandila will orbit at between 500 and 600 km away from the earth and take pictures of southern Africa.
Sumbandila is a Venda word and means something along the lines of “pathfinder”.
These are exciting times for South Africa’s technological advancement. Apart from the success with Sumbandila, fibre optic cables bringing high-speed internet to Africa have reached the continent. It means that the availability of cheaper broadband should increase for all Africans and with that, businesses will be able to become more competitive in the international arena and schools and other educational institutions will receive a welcome boost.
Let’s hope the South African government is well aware of the potential benefits on their doorstep and that it makes the best use of technological advancements in order to benefit all South Africans.
