Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
The Azerspace-2 satellite, worth $190 million, is projected to bring revenue to Azerbaijan's economy in the amount of $400 million, says the message of Azercosmos company.
The Azerbaijani Azerspace-2 satellite has been launched into orbit from the ELA-3 launch complex of the Guiana space center.
The satellite has been launched into orbit by the Ariane 5 launch vehicle of the French Arianespace company and has successfully separated from the launch vehicle approximately 42 minutes after the launch.
The manufacturer of the satellite is a subsidiary of the Canadian MDA-Space Systems Loral (SSL) Corporation. The satellite has been built on the 1300-series platform (SS/L 1300). The satellite will be placed at an orbital position of 45 degrees.
The ground infrastructure in Baku and Nakhchivan AR for the operation of the new satellite has been upgraded.
The Azerspace-2 satellite will cover the countries of Europe, Central and South Asia, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. The satellite will offer enhanced capabilities, coverage and service offerings to support the growing demand for direct network access (DTH) in the region.
The new satellite will not only expand the range of services and geography of activities of Azercosmos OJSC, but will also act as a reserve for the first telecommunications satellite Azerspace-1.
Before the launch of the Azerspace-2 satellite, 46 percent of the satellite capacity was sold to the world's leading provider of satellite services Intelsat. The payments under this sale contract will provide reimbursement of 60 percent of the financial costs of the project.
At the moment, the business negotiations related to the sale of the remaining switching capacity of the satellite are underway with other countries.