Angola loses first satellite, plans successor
Angola on 23 April confirmed the premature death of its first national telecoms satellite, Angosat-1, which was launched in December 2017 and was expected to have a working life of 15 years.
The Russian-made Angosat-1 struggled with repeated setbacks immediately after its launch from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan.
Contact with the satellite was soon lost and never recovered despite many attempts.
At a press conference in Luanda, Igor Frolov, a representative of manufacturer Energia RSC, said: ‘The satellite remained in orbit from December 26 to 30. After that we had a problem.’
Angolan Telecommunications Minister Jose Carvalho da Rocha immediately announced that the satellite would be replaced by a successor -- Angosat-2 -- under a new agreement with Russia.
‘Building will begin tomorrow at no cost to Angola... it will have more capacity and be more sophisticated than its predecessor,’ da Rocha said, adding it would be finished in 18 months.
The Angosat project was founded by Russia and Angola in 2009 and includes a control centre in a suburb of the Angolan capital Luanda.
Angosat-1 had been intended to improve satellite communication, internet access and broadcasting of radio and television across Africa.
Angola draws large revenue from its oil reserves but suffers extreme inequality with UNICEF calculating 38% of the population live in poverty.
You may also like
More from Digital Battlespace
-
![Israel sets up new department to boost development of AI and autonomy]()
Israel sets up new department to boost development of AI and autonomy
Israel will continue to develop autonomy for its weapons and platforms as it brings together defence personnel, academia and industry.
-
![Clavister contracted to supply cyber protection for CV90s]()
Clavister contracted to supply cyber protection for CV90s
Clavister CyberArmour, an integrated defence cybersecurity system, will be used on BAE Systems Hägglunds’ CV90 platform in deployments with a Scandinavian country, as well as in an eastern European nation.
-
![Lockheed Martin completes tactical satellite demonstration and prepares for launch]()
Lockheed Martin completes tactical satellite demonstration and prepares for launch
The tactical satellite (TacSat) is an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system and will participate in exercises in 2025.
-
![AUSA 2024: General Micro Systems adds four new products to the X9 Spider family]()
AUSA 2024: General Micro Systems adds four new products to the X9 Spider family
The airborne three-domain, the two ground-based and the ¼ ATR OpenVPX-based cross-domain systems were engineered to provide real-time security across multi-domain operations.
-
![BAE Systems gets go-ahead for second phase of mission communications programme]()
BAE Systems gets go-ahead for second phase of mission communications programme
DARPA’s Mission-Integrated Network Control (MINC) programme was set up to develop an autonomous tactical network and enable critical data flow in contested environments.
-
![Just Released: Space Technology Report]()
Just Released: Space Technology Report
Why space is an essential part of modern military capabilities
