Azerbaijan to launch another satellite this autumn
By Kamila Aliyeva
The launch of Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38, the second geostationary satellite of Azerbaijan, is scheduled for September 2018.
This was stated by the president of Azercosmos OJSC, Rashad Nabiyev, on the air of the American radio show - The John Batchelor Show.
Nabiyev said that currently Azerbaijan has two satellites in orbit - Azerspace-1, which provides telecommunications services in Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe, as well as Azersky, which provides services around the world, including the largest U.S. companies like Google.
In the interview, the head of Azercosmos spoke about the activities of the structure headed by him, company’s support of the development of the personnel potential in the country’s space industry, as well as global trends.
According to Nabiyev, the market for space services is rapidly changing, and startups are beginning to play an increasingly important role in this sector.
The satellite will be delivered to the orbit from the Kourou spaceport (Guiana Space Centre) in French Guiana, North-East of South America.
The second telecommunications satellite of Azerbaijan will be placed in a geostationary orbit 45 degrees east longitude and its service area will cover the countries of Europe, Central and South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
The satellite’s manufacturer is Space Systems Loral (SSL), which is also a provider of satellite control systems. The new satellite will further ensure the sustainability of the work, and will expand coverage of services.
Azerspace-1, the nation’s first satellite, was launched into orbit on February 8, 2013. At present, its service area includes countries of Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The Azerbaijani satellite provides a variety of services, such as digital television, data transmission, VSAT multi-service networks, and governmental communications. The total cost of the Azerspace-1 project was $230 million.
In December 2014, Azercosmos took over the rights to operate and commercialize Azersky, high resolution (1.5 meter imagery products) optical Earth observation satellite, and entered into the commercial business of Earth observation services, including geo-information services. Azerbaijan’s revenue from the operation of Azersky is expected to exceed $200 million within the next decade.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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