RSA-3

Royal Saudi Air Force RSA-3

Mission Profile

RSA-3 was a South African three-stage orbital launch vehicle developed by Armscor, the state armaments corporation, as part of the country's clandestine ballistic missile and space launch program during the late Cold War era. Designed to provide South Africa with indigenous satellite launch capability, the RSA-3 program progressed to an advanced stage before being cancelled amid international political pressure and the transition to democracy in the early 1990s. The program's cancellation was part of a broader rollback of South Africa's missile and weapons programs. Had it flown, the RSA-3 would have made South Africa one of the few African nations with independent orbital launch capability.