Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has chosen Arianespace to launch its first communications satellite.
Built by Orbital Sciences and based on the STAR-2 platform, Azerspace/Africasat-1a satellite will contain 36 Ku and…
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has chosen Arianespace to launch its first communications satellite.
Built by Orbital Sciences and based on the STAR-2 platform, Azerspace/Africasat-1a satellite will contain 36 Ku and C-band transponders serving Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Europe and Africa. The satellite is due to be launched by the end of 2012 and will be located at 46E.
The orbital slot is held by Measat as part of a joint development agreement between the Malaysian satellite operator and the Ministry of Communications.
Under the deal, Measat moved the old MEASAT-1 satellite there in 2008 and renamed it Africasat-1.
That satellite operates in an inclined orbit and will remain at 46E until the new satellite replaces it. The bird will be boosted into geostationary transfer orbit by an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
Although an Arianespace spokesman declined to comment on the total cost of the project, ministry spokesman Mushvig Amirov told AFP that US$120m would be spent on building the satellite, while launching it will cost US$93m.
Upon completion of in-orbit testing, operational control of the satellite will be handed over to the Ministry of Communications, which will continue to operate the spacecraft from its control center in Baku.
Dr Ali Abbasov, the Azerbaijani minister of Communications and Information Technology, stated in July that “the Azerspace/ Africasat-1a project is a keystone to the advancement and progress of Azerbaijan as we significantly expand our communications infrastructure within our borders and our connectivity to Europe, Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East.”
