After completing the construction and testing phase of ANGOSAT-2, the
Angolan satellite will be launched into space this Wednesday, October
12, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
The ANGOSAT-2 Satellite will have a High Data Transmission Rate (HTS),
and will guarantee full coverage of the national territory and provide
telecommunication services (telephone, internet, telemedicine,
broadcasting and radio broadcasting).
After launch, ANGOSAT-2 will be placed in geostationary orbit, i.e. at a
distance of about 36000 km from the Earth’s surface. It has six C-band
transponders that also ensure coverage of the entire African continent
and part of Europe.
It also has 24 Ku-band beams covering the entire Southern African region
(SADC) and a Ka-band transponder. It weighs approximately two tons
and will have a useful life in orbit of 15 to 18 years.
All the technical elements for ANGOSAT-2’s in-orbit operation are already
assured, namely the Satellite Control and Mission Center (MCC), located
in Funda, in Luanda, Ka-band antenna for in-orbit tests, already installed.
in the MCC, and the training and qualification of human resources.
HUMAN RESOURCES
For the operation of ANGOSAT-2, around 25 specialists from GGPEN
were trained and certified by the construction company.
The training was on the architecture, design and functionalities of the
platform and payload, as well as practical training on the use of operating
software.
CONTROL CENTER AND SATELITE MISSION
The ANGOSAT-2 project has two MCC, one in Luanda (main) and one in
Russia. Both are fully operational, equipped with equipment and
operating software that ensure readiness for launch, in-orbit testing phase
and subsequent operation.
The MCC was designed to operate uninterruptedly, that is, 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, and is equipped with engineering systems that make
it possible to receive, process and send information to the satellite.
In July, the 7.5 meter diameter antenna was installed at the MCC, in
Luanda, which will be used for the in-orbit tests of ANGOSAT-2. It is an
infrastructure that arises as a result of the update made in ANGOSAT-2
and used in the frequency band from 17 to 30 GHz
Bearing in mind that ANGOSAT-2’s mission is specific, the installed
antenna also has specific technical characteristics that make it the only
infrastructure at the southern African level that can be used for in-orbit
tests of satellites in geostationary orbit, which have frequencies in the Ka
band (17 to 30 GHz).
ANGOSAT PROJECT
ANGOSAT is the name of a structuring project that includes not only the
construction, launch and operation of Angolan satellites, but also the creation
of national capacity in human resources and infrastructure, within the scope of
the National Space Strategy 2016 – 2025.
ANGOSAT-2 is the project referring to the construction, launch and operation
of the second Angolan telecommunications satellite, which aims to guarantee
the expansion of communications services throughout the national and regional
territory, thus contributing to social inclusion, as well as to the greater
performance of companies and consequently in national social and economic
growth.
ANGOSAT-2 replaces the first telecommunications satellite, ANGOSAT-1
(successfully launched into space on December 26, 2017, at 20:00 in Angola, by
means of a Zenit-3F/Fregat-SB vehicle, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan), despite being in orbit, it did not present the parameters for which
it was built.
The Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social
Communication of Angola and the Russian consortium responsible for the
construction and launch of the first Angolan satellite, agreed on 23 April 2018,
the start of construction of ANGOSAT-2, at no additional cost to the party.
angolan In addition to updating the satellite and to compensate the Angolan
State, Russia provided capacities in other satellites, at around 288 MHz, during
the construction period of ANGOSAT-2, used for Internet, television service for
TPA, Telemedicine, telephony, etc
Source: Press and Institutional Communication Services of the Embassy
of Angola in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Niger and Benin,
Abuja, 11 October 2022.