Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 10 / Trend H.Valiyev /
French company Arianspace has announced the launch date of the first Azerbaijani national satellite Azerspace/Africasat-1, the company said. The in-orbit launch is scheduled for February 7.
The satellite will be sent into orbit by the Ariane 5 ECA launcher from the Kourou spaceport (Guiana Space Centre), located in the northeast part of South America, French Guiana.
According to Arianspace, besides the Azerbaijani satellite Azerspace, the Ariane 5 ECA launcher will also send the Spanish telecommunications satellite Amazonas-3 into orbit.
The satellite will be launched into a geostationary orbit at 46 degrees east longitude, leased from Malaysia's Measat Satellite Systems, owned by the Malaysian government. The Azerspace service area will cover Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and North Africa.
The Azerspace satellite manufacturer is American company Orbital Sciences Corporation. The Azerbaijani telecommunications satellite is designed to provide digital broadcasting, Internet access, data transmission and creation of VSAT multiservice networks, as well as provision of government communications.