Russia has informed South Africa that the launch of this country's R26-million Sumbandila satellite has had to be postponed yet again. Instead of taking place on March 25, it will now occur in the period May 6 to May 10.

However, the delay is not due to any technical, contractual, or political problem, but simply the result of a rescheduling of programmed launches by the Russian space agency Roscosmos. The agency has had to bring forward a manned mission to the International Space Station.

This will involve the Soyuz TMA-14 crew vehicle, and was originally scheduled for launch on March 26, after SumbandilaSat's take off. The three-person crew of this Soyuz mission will comprise a Russian commander, an American flight engineer, and an American space tourist (who paid $20-million for the trip).

SumbandilaSat should arrive in Russia any day now, to be prepared for launch. It takes some 40 days to prepare a satellite for its flight, including its integration on to the topmost stage of its carrier rocket.It will be carried into orbit by a Soyuz launch vehicle (not to be confused with the Soyuz crew vehicles, or space capsules). SumbandilaSat will form a secondary payload for the rocket, the primary being a Russian Meteor M weather satellite.

SumbandilaSat is an 81-kg Earth observation microsatellite; its name means "lead the way" in the Venda language. It is based around a new satellite platform developed by Stellenbosch-based specialist company SunSpace and Information Systems (SunSpace).

The microsatellite's main payload is a 6,25-m multispectral imager - that is, the imager has a resolution of 6,25 m by 6,25 m. This imager was also designed, developed, and made by SunSpace.