強風および Soyuz-2-1b Fregat の燃料系のトラブルにより延期されていたが、
三度目の 9月17日、17:55:09 CAT にようやく打ち上げに成功した。
SumbandilaSat衛星は南極上空で切り離され、管制局のステレンボッシュ大学
(Stellenbosch University) は、10分後に最初のコマンド“wake up”を送信
した。仰角 10度と低いにもかかわらず、SumbandilaSat は最初のテレメトリ
を返してきた。(訳注. 軌道要素, 未だ不明)
SUMBANDILASAT SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED
Third time lucky! 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
http://www.amsatsa.org.za/