Tshepiso proves its worth in space
CLOSE CALL: Tshepiso recently survived two close encounters with defunct Russian satellites
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Africa’s first nanosatellite, Tshepiso, is proving its worth in space.
During the past three months in orbit, the nanosatellite has survived the harsh radiation from the sun, extreme temperature fluctuations and most recently two close encounters with defunct Russian satellites.
Earlier this month United States Joint Space Operations Centre in California notified the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) that Tshepiso was on close approach with the COSMOS 2151 satellite over Antarctica. COSMOS 2151 was launched in 1991 and weighs a hefty 2 000kg, compared to CPUT’s satellite that weighs 1.2kg and measures 10x10x10cm.
Just two days later, Tshepiso faced another close encounter over Brazil, when the METEOR 2-5 satellite came within 85m of the nanosatellite.
There is nothing that can be done to alter the course or altitude of TshepisoSat as it has no propulsion control. And with the other satellites no longer functioning, they too cannot be controlled.
F’SATI’s Leon Steenkamp, who is monitoring Tshepiso’s daily movements, says during both incidents they were assisted by ground stations at the California Polytechnic State University and the University of Florida in the USA, who were able to listen to signals from Tshepiso during the two periods of close approach.
“The satellite appears unaffected by the two events and is operating as normal,” says Steenkamp.
Developed by F’SATI, the nanosatellite will study the propagation of radio waves through the ionosphere, providing valuable space weather data to the SANSA.
The nanosatellite was designed and built by 40 postgraduate students following the Satellite Systems Engineering Programme offered at F’SATI and was developed in collaboration with SANSA and with funding from the Department of Science and Technology, the National Research Foundation and CPUT.
For more information on the satellite, see www.cput.ac.za/blogs/fsati/
Written by Candes Keating
Email: keatingc@cput.ac.za
Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.
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