Bart Cilliers & Ron Olivier
1 September 2009 www.sunspace.co.za

• Brief overview of satellites
• Current & future industry developments
• Our role in local and international space industry
• Sumbandilasat – what is it and what is it good for?
• International space treaties www.sunspace.co.za

• Geostationary satellites – GEO
• Main suppliers: Thales Alenia Space (Fr), EADS Astrium (Fr), Lockheed Martin
(Usa), Ball Aerospace (Usa), Boeing (Usa), etc
• Market cap: Mainly publicly listed from around 4 to 100 billion US $
• Satellites costs: From around 0,25 to 1 billion US$
• Medium earth orbit satellites – MEO
• Main suppliers: Same as above + few others
• Satellites costs: Vary widely according to size
• Low earth orbit satellites – LEO
• Main Suppliers: SSTL (Eng), SunSpace (RSA), Satreci (Kor), Astrotech (Usa),
SpaceDev (Usa), etc
• Market caps: Mainly privately owned from around 4 to 100+ million US$
• Satellites costs: From around 1 to 250 million US$ according to size www.sunspace.co.za

COMPARATIVE SATELLITE GRAPHIC – NOT TO SCALE
LEO = IMAGING
GEO = COMMUNICATIONS
MEO = NAVIGATION www.sunspace.co.za

• Large Imaging LEO satellites
• Some examples: Pleiades , Spot 5 (All Fr), Orbview, Ikonos, Quickbird (all Usa),
Ofeq (Isr), Kompsat (Kor), Cartosat (Ind).
• Weight: 900 to 2850 kg
• Performance: 0,41 to 5m GSD (Multispectral)
• Estimated cost: 200 to 500 million US$
• Small and medium LEO satellites
• Some examples: RapidEye (Ger), Nigeriasat -2 (Eng), Alsat-2 (Fr), DubaiSat
(Kor), Sumbandilasat (RSA)
• Weight: 85 to 230 kg
• Performance: 5-6.25m Ground Sampling Distance (Multispectral)
• Estimated cost: 8 to 50 million US$
• Cubesats www.sunspace.co.za

• International LEO satellite industry structure
• Countries with space heritage provide in their own needs & those who require access
• SunSpace is building upon its South African heritage with the objective of entering the developing world market with further products
• Why small LEO?
• Affordable access to space - existing heritage
• Complex technical challenges without the cost of large programs
• Current developments
• Developing world is waking up to small satellite possibilities
• Future expectations
• Growing international demand for small satellites – TACSAT as example www.sunspace.co.za

• International small satellite industry
• Many countries competing for developing world small satellite orders
• SunSpace competing as part of team RSA
• Local space industry
• SunSpace is part of a large number small RSA companies that contribute to local space effort
• SunSpace provides both small satellite hardware and software as well as expert training for small satellite design, development testing and operations engineers.
• Government support
• The international competition is won only as a national team effort www.sunspace.co.za

• What is it?
• 84 kg earth observation satellite with a multispectral imaging of 6.25m
GSD at 500km. Can see the same point in RSA every 3-4 days.
• Pathfinder objective is to increase scientific and engineering knowledge in space systems
• Satellite contains some heritage, some newly developed systems
• What is it good for?
• Designed and tested for operational use –provide scientifically useful images if operating as per design specifications
• Images will provide further scientific information for assessing ground cover, agricultural crop analysis, forestry composition analysis, water analysis and land use applications
• Provide clear indication of progress in RSA technical design, manufacturing and operating capabilities to the international community
• Signal for high level technical expatriates to return to our country www.sunspace.co.za

• GEO (we do not operate there)
• Mandatory requirement for safe removal of satellite from orbit.
• Safe removal applies also to the GTO and the insertion rockets
• Safe removal mechanisms built into the satellite design
• Proof of operation for safe removal mechanisms required before launch
• MEO (we do not operate there)
• Removal requirements are not stringent or enforced
• No parked orbital slot in relation to terra location
• LEO (Yes, we operate here)
• No mandatory control
• Technical expertise required to launch into an unoccupied orbit www.sunspace.co.za

• Some local controls for space
• Missile Technology Regime – NPC (DTI),
• Prohibits and controls the transfer of technologies in spacecraft for use in intercontinental ballistic missiles
• Wassenaar Arrangement – NCACC (DOD),
• Control and tracks specific technologies used in spacecraft to prohibit their reuse in conventional arms such as other missiles or targeting systems
• Council on Space Affairs – (DTI), ICASA – (DOC)
• Controls the launch of all spacecraft from South African soil and South African spacecraft from other countries.
www.sunspace.co.za

• International LEO Orbit Issues
• The UN COPUOS is trying to introduce legislation to limit or eliminate LEO space debris, but accept that existing debris cannot be removed because:
– There is too much debris comprised of separation hardware and spent rocket final stages and the like.
– There is no affordable existing system that could be used to remove the existing debris.
• The UN COPUOS accordingly is concentrating on promoting the responsible use of space as the only practical means to limit or avoid the proliferation of space debris.
The most important items of space debris to be avoided is the following:
– Since the titanium tanks used for hydrazine do not burn up upon re-entry, they have to be completely vented (emptied) at end of life to avoid contamination when they fall back to earth as hydrazine is extremely poisonous.
– The use of nuclear reactors to power satellites in LEO orbit are now regarded as irresponsible space use in the extreme. Most responsible nations will not launch any LEO satellite with a nuclear reactor power source. Nuclear power sources are the only possibility for outer space exploration missions where insufficient solar energy is available. www.sunspace.co.za

UN COPUOS treaties
• LEO orbit space bodies are difficult to regulate without international cooperation forums such as the UN COPUOS
• Access to international markets for satellite manufacturers such as ourselves depends on our country being seen as a responsible space user
• UN treaties provides internationally recognised platform for responsible use by guarding against misuse of orbits, launches and provide legal cover for when space debris lands on one’s soil
• Recommendation on UN treaties
• SunSpace gives its unqualified support to the 2 UN treaties namely the
Liability Convention and the Registration Convention under consideration and urges Parliament to ratify both!
www.sunspace.co.za

www.sunspace.co.za

Any Questions?
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