ZACUBE-2

NORAD ID: 43907

COSPAR ID: 2018-111AH

Country: South Africa

Active: Yes

Details

Use: Educational

Purpose: Maritime Domain Awareness

Operator: Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Mass: 4 kg

Description: ZACUBE-2, developed by CPUT in South Africa, is a 3U CubeSat succeeding ZACUBE-1. It serves as a technology demonstrator for key subsystems and hosts a Software Defined Radio (SDR) as its primary payload for flexible communication, particularly for vessel detection via AIS. The satellite also includes a medium-resolution imager for secondary objectives like ocean color monitoring and fire tracking. Launched in 2018 on a Russian Soyuz-2-1a Fregat rocket, ZACUBE-2 aims to expand South Africa's space technology capabilities and was developed in collaboration with SANSA and Stellenbosch University.

Orbit

Orbit Class: LEO

Apogee: 508 Km (Above sea level)

Perigee: 480 Km (Above sea level)

Inclination: 97.3°

Eccentricity: 0.002039

Semi major axis: 6865.0 Km

Period: ~94.3 minutes

Apogee Speed: ~7604.4 m/s

Perigee Speed: ~7635.4 m/s

Tour per day: ~15.0

Launch Information

Date: 2018/12/27 02:07:00 (UTC)

Country: Russian Federation

Site: Vostochny

Provider: Soyuz

Vehicle: Soyuz-2-1b Fregat