Cape Town - A master’s student from UCT’s SpaceLab whose dissertation focuses on how a simulated satellite can aid vegetation monitoring in South Africa, was hand-picked to present his paper at the 2021 SpaceOps Conference, the 16th International Conference on Space Operations held virtually last week.
Brendon Maongera’s paper, “South African Satellite Operations Testbench for Capacity Building in Space Operations Training and Research”, became the focal point during an afternoon session at the conference.
The annual event attracts space operations enthusiasts from around the world and provides a platform for robust discussions on state-of-the-art space operations principles, methods and tools.
“I am delighted that I was afforded the opportunity to share my research with delegates who work in the space industry and to engage with various people on the importance of capacity building in this industry in South Africa,” he said. “I am disappointed that all of this could not be done in person, though. It would’ve allowed me time to engage a lot more and to increase exposure, especially with prospective partners.”
Maongera said his research focused on building a simulated satellite camera and assessing and monitoring its effectiveness using a testbench – a special station developed to test a mechanism using software and hardware tools.
He explained that his objective was to demonstrate the benefits of using a replicated satellite for capacity building, and to showcase how it can help South Africa reach its vegetation monitoring goals. He said using remote sensing was essential for vegetation monitoring.
He aimed to prove that the same techniques used to fly a simulated satellite can be replicated and used to operate an actual satellite in space. This, he explained, means that while students learn to operate an actual satellite, they will also learn how to operate a replicated version thereof – the same principles apply.
Maongera’s simulated satellite was flown over the Cape Peninsula.
Another part of his research was to highlight the critical role onboard computers and software play in order to streamline operations and to reach a desired goal, particularly for emerging space nations such as South Africa.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though.
“My first big challenge was learning how the satellite testbench operates and how the different components interact with each other in order to simulate a satellite. I also had to learn how to create commands to send to the satellite for it to operate effectively, and this was hard.
“Lastly, learning how to actually simulate the satellite camera with a satellite, command it and apply those skills to help me obtain useful data was a tough nut to crack,” he said.
Maongera said going forward, he hoped to include more students to help him develop, build, replicate and control their own satellites.