Nepal is reportedly considering launching its first satellite before the end of 2015 in order to avoid losing its orbital slot, awarded in 1984.
Officials from the Ministry of Information and Communications were quoted telling Chinese press agency…
Nepal is reportedly considering launching its first satellite before the end of 2015 in order to avoid losing its orbital slot, awarded in 1984.
Officials from the Ministry of Information and Communications were quoted telling Chinese press agency Xinhua that a committee has been set up to study the feasibility of launching a satellite.
Representatives from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, as well as from the Nepal Telecom Authority and Nepal Television joined the committee, which will study estimated costs, losses and profits and the technicalities involved.
Anup Nepal, an official with the frequency management division of the Ministry of Information and Communications, was quoted conceding that the government has no experience in setting up a satellite and will therefore have to study everything from scratch.
The bird is expected to be used for TV broadcast as well as weather forecast services. Nepal might also decide to lease some capacity to either China or India for commercial purposes, the officials were quoted as saying.
Experts reportedly told Xinhua that Nepal might decide to build and launch the satellite via a public-private partnership with local and foreign companies in order to cut costs.
Most of Nepal’s nearby countries already have satellites, while Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are currently in the process of ordering their own spacecraft.
Both the Nepalese Ministry of Information and Communications and the ITU did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
