A 5 cm satellite. A continental ambition.
Sustaino-1 is our flagship 1P PocketQube — engineered in Johannesburg, targeting a rideshare launch to Sun-Synchronous Orbit with Alba Orbital.
Objectives
- Prove
Show and predict infrastructure loss from orbit. When natural disasters (floods, earthquakes) or conflicts damage ground-based networks, terrestrial infrastructure often fails — Sustaino-1 provides a crucial lifeline and assessment tool from LEO.
- Downlink
Send verifiable telemetry & imagery from LEO via LoRa 433 MHz to our Johannesburg ground station.
- Inspire
Open the mission log, CAD and code so the next SA student sees the ladder to orbit.
Flight-model configuration.
| Size | 50 × 50 × 50 mm (1P PocketQube) |
| Mass | ≈ 245 g integrated |
| Mission Life | 12+ months on-orbit |
| Orbit | Sun-Synchronous, ≈ 500 km |
| Launch Provider | Alba Orbital |
| Launch Vehicle | Rideshare — TBD at contract |
| Ground Station | EAK-GS1, Johannesburg (LoRa + UHF) |
| Camera | Low-res optical imager for pass-verification |
| Communications | LoRa 433 MHz downlink, UHF beacon |
| Power System | Body-mounted GaAs solar, Li-Po buffer |
| Flight Computer | Raspberry Pi Pico 2 (RP2350) |
| Mission Status | Engineering Model — under construction |
Sustaino-1 in orbit.
Drag-to-rotate isometric preview · high-fidelity WebGL model coming soon.
From bedroom to orbit.
Live Gantt-style tracker updated as we hit each milestone.
EAK-GS1 · Johannesburg
Our home-built ground segment tracks Sustaino-1 on every South African overpass.
Doppler-corrected LoRa 433 MHz downlink, decoded on a Raspberry Pi–based mission control stack, archived to a local SQLite mission log and mirrored off-site.
Yagi 7-element UHF antenna on a motorised az/el rotator, low-noise amplifier, SDR receiver, and a redundant LoRa transceiver for handshake.
Full daily overpasses across the SADC region; extended coverage window planned via partner amateur radio ground stations.