Tags: Azercosmos, Satellite Launch, Broadcasting, Broadband
Publication: Trend.az
Publication Date: 05/06/2013

Manufacturing of the Azerspace/Africasat-1. Image credit: Azercosmos

North Africa’s telecommunication operators have started to use Azerbaijan’s first telecommunication satellite Azerspace/Africasat-1, launched on Feb. 8. According to Azerbaijan’s government, on May 1 the country’s satellite operator Azercosmos started implementing 40 percent of the satellite’s resources, which covers Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Middle East and Africa.

Azerspace/Africasat-1 operates from a geostationary orbit at 46 degrees east longitude, which is leased from Malaysia’s Measat Satellite Systems. It is expected to have a service life of up to 16 years.

The satellite’s payload, built on the STAR-2 platform, has 36 transponders: 24 C-band transponders and a 12 Ku-band range. The frequency band of each transponder is 36 MHz. The satellite is designed to provide digital broadcasting, Internet access, data transmission and support the creation of VSAT multiservice networks and governmental communications across the region.

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