From SUNSAT to Sumbandila: How South Africa’s Small-Satellite Journey Built Home-grown Space Capacity

In 1999, when the first South African university-built satellite, SUNSAT, lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, it signalled more than just a technological achievement. It marked the start of a national journey — one that would chart a path from academic experimentation to commercial space enterprise, ultimately laying the groundwork for a private […]

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Earth Observation from Africa: How Satellites Are Changing Agriculture, Environment and Disaster Response on the Continent

When you think of Earth-observation satellites, the images that spring to mind may include towering hurricanes, melting ice-caps, or sprawling deserts. But Africa presents an even more compelling environment for satellite-derived data: dynamic agriculture, water-scarce regions, forests under pressure, rapid urbanisation, and frequent natural disasters. For African nations, satellites can deliver a vantage point otherwise […]

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