Azerbaijan’s second geostationary satellite's construction almost completed
By Rashid Shirinov
Construction of Azerspace-2/Intelsat-38, nation's second geostationary satellite, gradually comes to an end.
The construction works have been completed by 90 percent, according to a source in the Azerbaijani satellite communications market.
And the remainder of the work is planned to complete the within the next four months.
“The construction work will be completed in January 2018,” the source told Trend, adding that the launch of the satellite is scheduled for the first half of 2018.
France’s Arianespace company, which earlier launched the first Azerspace/Africasat-1a satellite, will also launch the second satellite into orbit.
Meanwhile, ELA-3, a launch complex located at the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana, informed that the launch of the Ariane 5 ECA rocket with the VA-242 mission aboard with the Azerspace-2/Intelsat-38 satellite is scheduled for the first quarter of next year. Along with Azerbaijan’s Azerspace-2/Intelsat-38 satellite, the rocket will also launch the Avanti Communications HYLAS 4 satellite into orbit.
The Azerspace-2/Intelsat-38 satellite is being manufactured by Space Systems Loral (SSL) company, which also provides satellite control systems. Under the strategic agreement with Intelsat, the world’s leading provider of satellite services, the satellite will be placed into geostationary orbit 45 degrees east longitude and will serve the countries of Europe, Central and South Asia, Middle East and Africa.
Having the life span in orbit of 15 years, the satellite will provide digital broadcasting, data transmission and other services. It will also support the DTH (Direct-to-Home) satellite broadcasting platform, which will contribute to the emergence of DTH operators in Azerbaijan.
Azerspace-2 will be the second telecommunications satellite of Azercosmos, the national satellite operator of Azerbaijan and the premier satellite operator in the Caucasus. It will expand on the current capacity of Azerspace-1, which was launched in 2013. The new satellite will provide Azercosmos with additional capacity for the increasing demand in the region, and will allow to continue to bring the best service to its customers.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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