SA space agency celebrates 24th anniversary of launch of the country’s first satellite

The South African National Space Agency (Sansa) on Thursday commemorated the 24th anniversary of the launch of SunSat-1, on an American Delta II rocket from the then Vandenberg Air Force Base (now Space Force Base) in the US State of California. SunSat-1 was not only the first South African-designed and built satellite to reach space, it was the first spacecraft designed and developed in Africa to do so. Developed by engineers and technologists at Stellenbosch University (hence its name), SunSat-1 did not just ‘come into being’. It followed years of research and work, including on a previous, abortive, and for a long-time secret, State satellite programme, which developed significant expertise in South Africa. However, SunSat-1 was totally unrelated to the cancelled programme.