Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 2
By Huseyn Valiyev - Trend:
Azerbaijan's second telecommunications satellite 'Azerspace-2' is scheduled to be launched in 2017, Azerkosmos Open Joint-Stock Company told Trend.
Several orbital positions are being considered to accommodate the second satellite, the company said.
The second telecommunications satellite of Azerbaijan will also be designed to provide digital broadcasting, internet access, data transmission, creation of multiservice VSAT networks and so on.
Azerbaijan's second satellite program will also have a commercial character.
A tender is expected to be announced soon for construction of the second telecommunications satellite of Azerbaijan. The tender will be announced for a small number of manufacturers.
Azerbaijan's first satellite "Azerspace/Africasat-1a" was manufactured by the American company 'Orbital Sciences Corporation'.
The satellite was launched on February 8, 2013 aboard the Arian-5 ECA rocket from the Guiana Space Centre's ELA-3 launch complex. The satellite took its position in the geostationary orbit at 46 degrees east longitude.
The Arian-5 ECA rocket was manufactured by the French company 'Arianspace'.
The satellite's payload is 36 transponders (24 C-band transponders and 12 Ku-band transponders).
Each transponder's frequency band is 36 MHz. The satellite weighs about 3,275 kilograms.
The lifetime of the satellite is 15 years.
Azerspace/Africasat-1a satellite's service area covers the countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia and North Africa.
Translated by E.A.