The first imaging satellite built by South African company Dragonfly Aerospace has been launched into orbit to help agricultural users adjust to climate change and achieve sustainability in their practices.
Open it
The EOS SAT-1 satellite (AgriSat-1/ ZA-008) was launched on January 3 by Elon Musk’s South African-born US aerospace company SpaceX in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of the Transporter-6 mission.
The launch of the 170kg microsatellite follows the success last year of three nanosatellites produced locally by the Department of Science and Innovation and its partners.
The Maritime Domain Awareness Satellite (MDASat-1) constellation was launched on SpaceX’s Transporter-3 mission and marks the first launch of a constellation of satellites developed entirely on the African continent.
Capabilities
Equipped with two dragoneye electro-optical imagers, EOS SAT-1 will provide panchromatic and multispectral imagery of a 44km swath in 11 spectral bands – making it one of the most capable imaging satellites in lower Earth observation.
Congratulating Dragonfly Aerospace, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande said the launch of EOS SAT-1 is a proud moment for the country.
“This will further strengthen South Africa’s position as an African leader in the development of small to medium satellites, and help the country gain a niche market share in the fast-growing global satellite value chain.”
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“In 2009, the department launched SumbandilaSat, a technology demonstrator, in partnership with South African industry. SumbandilaSat was launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, with satellite monitoring and support from the South African National Space Agency’s Space Operations facility in Hartebeesthoek,” said Nzimande.
The images obtained from Dragonfly’s EOS SAT-1 will provide useful information for applications such as crop monitoring, seasonal planning and assessments that analyze information such as soil moisture, yield predictions and biomass levels.
This data will support farmers by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and help develop sustainable farming methods.
This information will also have important environmental benefits for the planet and will preserve biodiversity and help prevent natural habitats from being depleted for crop growth.
Training program
Nzimande added that the SumbandilaSat initiative also demonstrates South Africa’s ability to build satellites and facilitate the development of human capital.
“The program allowed for the training of nine new black-trained engineers (four women) and increased the experience of another 78 engineers.”
The Sumbandila program produced 18 Masters and two PhD students in engineering at Stellenbosch University.
Another satellite
The EOS SAT-1 satellite is the first of a constellation of seven satellites in low Earth orbit for EOS Data Analytics customers.
The remaining six satellites of the constellation will be deployed in the next three years.
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