# SumbandilaSat
*missions*

## Specifications
- **operator**: sansa
- **actual launch**: 2009-09-17
- **actual end of life**: 2021-12-10
- **platform**: sumbandilasat-bus
- **launch vehicle**: roscosmos-soyuz-2
- **current status**: ended
- **orbit type**: Sun-synchronous LEO; Gunter reports 490 x 503 km and 97.37 deg at launch-era orbit, while CelesTrak records atmospheric decay on 2021-12-10.
- **swath km**: 45
- **tasking supported**: false
- **current geographic priority**: South African and Southern African public-interest imaging, including disaster monitoring and environmental applications; no commercial tasking pathway verified.
- **entity type**: mission
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-21
- **verified by**: operator
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: sansa
- **attributes**: {"operator":"sansa","actual_launch":"2009-09-17","actual_end_of_life":"2021-12-10","platform":"sumbandilasat-bus","launch_vehicle":"roscosmos-soyuz-2","current_status":"ended","orbit_type":"Sun-synchronous LEO; Gunter reports 490 x 503 km and 97.37 deg at launch-era orbit, while CelesTrak records atmospheric decay on 2021-12-10.","swath_km":45,"tasking_supported":false,"current_geographic_priority":"South African and Southern African public-interest imaging, including disaster monitoring and environmental applications; no commercial tasking pathway verified."}
- **relevance**: in-scope

## Editorial
SumbandilaSat / ZA-002 was a South African microsatellite Earth-observation and technology-demonstration mission.[^sansa-farewell][^gunter-sumbandila] It launched on 2009-09-17 on Soyuz-2-1b/Fregat from Baikonur LC-31/6 and operated in Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit.[^sansa-farewell][^gunter-sumbandila] The main imager produced six visible bands at 6.25 m ground sampling across an approximately 45 km swath, with 12-bit imagery.[^gunter-sumbandila] The mission delivered 1,128 usable high-resolution images for disaster management and environmental applications, including Namibia flood monitoring and Kruger fire campaigns.[^sansa-farewell] Primary imaging ended after radiation damage in 2011, and the spacecraft decayed on 2021-12-10.[^sansa-farewell][^celestrak-sumbandila]

## Compositional position
- SumbandilaSat --[mission_payloads]--> sumbandilasat-imager (products)
- SumbandilaSat --[mission_buses]--> sumbandilasat-bus (products)
- SumbandilaSat --[related-topic]--> disaster-damage-assessment (topics)
- SumbandilaSat --[related-topic]--> flooding (topics)
- SumbandilaSat --[related-topic]--> wildfire (topics)
- SumbandilaSat --[related-topic]--> land-cover-change (topics)

## Sources
- [sansa-farewell] | Farewell to SumbandilaSat, a proudly South African satellite | https://www.sansa.org.za/2022/02/farewell-to-sumbandilasat-a-proudly-south-african-satellite/ | tier=operator-press | accessed=2026-06-21 | published=2022-02-07
- [gunter-sumbandila] | Sumbandila, Gunter Space Page | https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/sumbandila.htm | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-21
- [celestrak-sumbandila] | CelesTrak SATCAT record for SUMBANDILA | https://celestrak.org/satcat/records.php?CATNR=35870 | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-21

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/missions/sumbandila-sat
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)