South Africa: SumbandilaSat was successfully launched on 17 September at 17:55:09 CAT (Central African Time) after the launch had to be postponed twice, once due to heavy winds and the second attempt due to the fuel pressure in the feed line which was four times too low and thus caused the fueling process to take too long to be completed in time for launch.
The satellite was released from the rocket while over the Antarctic and accessed by the ground station at the Stellenbosch University ten minutes later when the first command was sent to 'wake up' the satellites. Despite the low elevation orbit of less than 10 degrees SumbandilaSat responded well with its first telemetry. (Souce: GIS Development )
For further information please visit:
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/september2009/sumbandilasat_successfully_launched.htm
