Page 30 - EngineerIT January 2022

AMATEUR RADIO AND SPACE

Radio Amateurs made major

contributions to first two SA satellites

adio Amateurs have made a significant contribution to the success of the first two
South African satellites, SunSat and SumbandilaSat, yet they have been given little
Rcredit for their contributions.
SUNSAT was the first successfully launched South African satellite. Prof. Garth Milne,
SunSat project leader and a radio amateur (callsign - ZR1AFH) in Stellenbosch and Hans
van de Groenendaal ZS5AKV in Hillcrest (KwaZulu-Natal) made history on Sunday 14 March
1999 when they made the first voice contact using SUNSAT. The voice quality was excellent
and signals strong even when the satellite approached the horizon.
Sunsat was launched on 23 February 1999 on a Delta rocket from Vandenberg Air Force
base. The vision of starting a microsatellite originated with Prof. Jan du Plessis and Prof.
Arnold Schoonwinkel in 1989. Prof. Garth Milne ZR1AFH became project leader. After some
18 months spent defining the project and seeking industry sponsors for the programme,
an advisory board was established on 27 June 1991 and the programme officially launched
under the banner of SUNSAT. Hans van de Groenendaal represented the South African
Radio League and the Southern African Amateur Radio Satellite Association (AMSAT SA) on
the advisory board.
The name SUNSAT closely associates the programme with the university (Stellenbosch
University Satellite). SUNSAT also received its international designation, SUNSAT OSCAR 35.
This OSCAR designation (acronym for orbiting satellite carrying amateur radio) is given to a SUNSAT
satellite that carries one or more transmitters operating on amateur radio frequencies.
After its launch the satellite underwent extensive testing by the ground control team part in bringing amateur radio into
situated at Stellenbosch University. The first voice contact, testing the transponders on the classroom as part of the ARISAS
SUNSAT, was part of this programme that continued for several more weeks before SUNSAT programme (Amateur Radio in South
was declared fully operational. African Schools), which was aimed at
It was rewarding for the first test voice contact to be made by the Radio Amateurs who using amateur radio in the classroom
had been involved from the outset of the project in 1991. SUNSAT played an important to expand the teaching of science and
technology.
SUNSAT was built by students at the
University of Stellenbosch who carried
out the detailed design and software
development, while system level design
was carried out by lecturers.
At the time, Prof. Milne said: “South
Africa has an innovative electronics
industry that wishes to benefit from new
opportunities. It also needs competent,
technically trained people to establish
and operate systems. The SUNSAT
programme is a means of increasing
space segment knowledge in the
country, establishing a satellite training
capability and exposing the industries’
capabilities.”
The SUNSAT programme delivered
over 50 students with Master of
Prof. Garth Mile with one of his SUNSAT students Engineering degrees.

EngineerIT | January 2022 | 28