Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 6 / Trend H.Valiyev /
A contract to launch the first Azerbaijani space telecommunications satellite will be signed by late November, Communications and IT Minister Ali Abbasov said at a news conference at the New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) headquarters today.
Orbital Sciences Corp. won a tender to create the Azerspace satellite. The tender was announced by the ministry in January
According to the minister, Azerbaijan is presently negotiating with the project's contractor and an insurance company. The original contract stipulated launching the satellite with the help of the U.S. "Falcon" carrier rocket. However, as the U.S. project has been delayed, Azerbaijan has entered negotiations with Ukroboronservis.
The satellite's cost will be roughly 163 million manat, the ministry said.
The satellite's construction will cost 87 million manat, and 40 million manat will be spent on the satellite's orbit. A satellite control center will cost 16 million manat and the remaining 18 million manat will be spent on fully insuring the satellite.
According to plans, the Azerspace satellite will launch into orbit in 2011.
The satellite's terms of exploitation will be 15 years with a payback period of about five years. Azerbaijan intends to use about 25 percent of the satellite's resources, and the remaining amount will be offered to operators in other countries.
The International Telecommunications Union has given Azerbaijan two geostationary orbit positions for local use and one position for international use.
The satellite's launch will be Azerbaijan's first step into the space industry.
The national satellite will enable Azerbaijan to create high quality and reliable communications systems and television, as well as increase the number of channels.
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