Azerbaijan, Baku, April 3 / Trend, H. Valiyev /
The U.S. Orbital Sciences Corp. provided Azerkosmos with complete control over the first national telecommunication satellite Azerspace/Africasat-1a, the company told Trend today.
The company said that the test operation period finished on April 2 and now the satellite is ready for commercial exploitation.
Currently, the satellite is controlled by the company's specialists from the head and additional control centers.
Azerspace/Africasat-1a was launched from the start complex ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Centre on Feb. 8.
The payload of Azerspace/Africasat-1, built on the STAR-2 platform, consists of 36 transponders (24 C-band transponders and a 12 Ku-band range). The frequency band of each transponder is 36 MHz. The satellite weights 3275 kg and it service life in orbit will reach up to 16 years.
The satellite will be launched into geostationary orbit at 46 degrees east longitude and is leased from Malaysia's Measat Satellite Systems, owned by the government of Malaysia. Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Africa will be included in the service area of Azerspace.
The Azerbaijani satellite Azerspace/Africasat-1 is designed to provide digital broadcasting, Internet access, data transmission and the creation of VSAT multiservice networks and governmental communications.