By Linus Aleke
The Angolan authority has concluded arrangements to launch its satellite code-named ANGOSAT-2, into space this Wednesday, October 12, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, after completing the construction and testing phase.
The ANGOSAT-2 Satellite, it said, will have a High Data Transmission Rate (HTS), and will guarantee full coverage of the national territory and provide telecommunication services (telephone, internet, telemedicine,
broadcasting and radio broadcasting).
The Press and Institutional Communication Services of the Embassy of Angola in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Niger and Benin, made this disclosure in a statement in
Abuja.
The embassy said that after launch, ANGOSAT-2 will be placed in geostationary orbit, i.e. at a distance of about 36000 km from the Earth’s surface, adding that it has six C-band transponders that also ensure coverage of the entire African continent and part of Europe.
The satellite which, weighs approximately two tons and will have a useful life in orbit for 15 to 18 years, also has 24 Ku-band beams covering the entire Southern African region (SADC), and a Ka-band transponder.
The statement said, all the technical elements for ANGOSAT-2’s in-orbit operation are already assured, namely the Satellite Control and Mission Center (MCC), located in Funda, in Luanda, Ka-band antenna for in-orbit tests, already installed.
For the operation of ANGOSAT-2, the Angolan embassy said, around 25 specialists from GGPEN were trained and certified by the construction company.
The training, it added, was on the architecture, design and functionalities of the platform and payload, as well as practical training on the use of operating software.
On the control centre, it said, the ANGOSAT-2 project has two MCC, one in Luanda (main) and one in Russia.
Both are fully operational, equipped with equipment and operating software that ensure readiness for launch, in-orbit testing phase and subsequent operation.
The MCC was designed to operate uninterruptedly, that is, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is equipped with engineering systems that make it possible to receive, process and send information to the satellite.
“In July, the 7.5 meter diameter antenna was installed at the MCC, in Luanda, which will be used for the in-orbit tests of ANGOSAT-2. It is an infrastructure that arises as a result of the update made in ANGOSAT-2
and used in the frequency band from 17 to 30 GHz. Bearing in mind that ANGOSAT-2’s mission is specific, the installed antenna also has specific technical characteristics that make it the only infrastructure at the southern African level that can be used for in-orbit tests of satellites in geostationary orbit, which have frequencies in the Ka band (17 to 30 GHz),” the statement said.
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ANGOSAT it said, is the name of a structuring project that includes not only the construction, launch and operation of Angolan satellites, but also the creation of national capacity in human resources and infrastructure, within the scope of the National Space Strategy 2016 – 2025.
ANGOSAT-2, the statement concluded replaces the first telecommunications satellite, ANGOSAT-1 (successfully launched into space on December 26, 2017, at 20:00 in Angola, by means of a Zenit-3F/Fregat-SB vehicle, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan), despite being in orbit, it did not present the parameters for which
it was built.
