The South African Government has under the Department of Science and Technology commissioned a Nano-Satellite under its Operation Phakisa Blue Economy programme due to be launched into space from India in July 2018.
See our blog post, “The Oceans Economy” for more details on Operation Phakisa.
The News24 article, SA readies latest ocean-watching satellite for launch, goes on to say “The nanosatellite, dubbed ZACUBE-2, was developed by Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and the French South African Institute of Technology as a follow-up to the previous nanosatellite, ZACUBE-1, which was launched from Yasny Launch Base in Russia.
What it will do
The goal of ZACUBE-2 is to track forest fires and allow authorities to track the position of local and foreign vessels in South African waters.
Furthermore, the article continues to convey the benefits of working on this nanosatellite. The closing video clip serves to describe the origin of the nano-satellite and its potential benefits.
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