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Turkmenistan postpones first satellite launch

27 November 2014 16:27 (UTC+04:00)
Turkmenistan postpones first satellite launch

By Aynur Jafarova

The launch of Turkmenistan’s first cosmic communication satellite has been postponed from November 2014 to the first half of 2015, RIA Novosti reported quoting local Turkmen TV channel on November 26.

This postponement was announced during a visit of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov to the Communications Satellites Control Center in the country’s Akhal region.

However, the reasons behind the delay have not been revealed yet.

Turkmenistan’s first national satellite TurkmenAlem 520E is planned be launched into orbit with the help of Falkon 9 rocket-carrier.

Currently, Turkmenistan uses the services of the Russian satellite Yamal, owned by Gazprom Space Systems JSC. The digital national TV channel and many Russian TV channels are broadcasted in Turkmenistan with this satellite.

The Turkmen communication satellite will support TV broadcasts, radio telephone, telegraph and other types of communication between ground stations, placed at a distance of up to 15,000 kilometers from each other.

The launch of the satellite will allow Turkmenistan to increase the number of its TV channels. It will also enable it to urgently inform about emergencies, and apply integrated information exchange to organize various projects including distance education and telemedicine.

Furthermore, this will ensure a high-quality telephone service even in the remote regions of the country, while eliminating the need to lay expensive cables, and monitoring of oil and gas pipelines (SKADA system), as the space communication equipment will connect the gas industry entities through satellite channels of communication and video conferencing.

Launching of the communication satellite is a cost-effective step. The geographical position of Turkmenistan will allow it to act as a transit country in European and Asian channels covering a large area.

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