ZACube-2 satellite blasts into space to keep an eye on SA’s oceans and veld fires
The nanosatellite, which weighs only 4kg, is the country’s most advanced
A nanosatellite, considered to be SA’s most advanced to date, was launched into orbit from Russia on Thursday morning.
ZACube-2, which weighs just 4kg with dimensions of only a few centimetres, is expected to help advance SA’s ocean economy and monitor veld fires. The satellite was launched along with several others belonging to countries such as the US and Spain. ZACube-2 will track ships off the country’s coastline using an automatic identification system. This is not only aimed at improving the logistics of registered and legally operating ships, but also to detect trespassers. “The extent of looting of our fish resources, for example, represents a loss of billions of rands to criminal syndicates that can be nabbed through an effective monitoring and enforcement system,” the department of science and technology said in a statement. The satellite is also part of a natural and man-made disaster monitoring project. At this stage, ZACube-2 will only monitor veld fires, however ...
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