RSA-3 - payload - RSA-3 - satellite payload and kick stage 29,053 bytes. 222 x 327 pixels.

The South African RSA-3 launch vehicle was designed to place a small surveillance satellite of 330 kg mass into a 41 degree, 212 x 460 km orbit around the earth. The solar array for the satellite had a mass of under 7 kg and with three panels could supply 295 W of power. The thermal satellite blanket insulated the payload from temperatures ranging from -80 degrees C to + 100 degrees C. Following cancellation of the military missile programme in 1989, the project was reoriented to civilian uses, with the declared missions of vehicle tracking and regional planning. Certain technology on the satellite is probably derived from that of the Israeli Ofeq satellites. However Greensat is over twice the mass of the Ofeq, due to the favorable launch azimuth for the RSA-3 launch vehicle from South Africa as compared to due-West launch of the similar Shavit booster from Israel.

Total Mass: 330 kg. Electric system: 295.00 total average kW. Electrical System: Solar cells.