Azercosmos
has officially taken control of the Azerspace-1 Ku-band satellite from
Orbital Sciences Corporation. The national space agency of Azerbaijan
reported that the country's first telecommunication satellite is now
ready for business.
The
Azerbaijani satellite is currently managed by Azercosmos specialists
from the main control center near the capital city of Baku. An
additional control center was built in Nakhchivan, 450 km west of
Baku.
Azerspace-1
launched from the ELA-3 launch facility at the Guiana Space Centre on
February 8. The telecom satellite underwent trials through February
and March, and is now ready for commercial exploitation. According to
Communications and Information Technologies Minister Ali Abbasov,
Azerspace-1 will earn revenues beginning May 1.
The
Azerspace-1 project cost a total of around $230 million. This
included the cost of building the two ground control stations,
training the Azercosmos specialists, insurance for the satellite and
related equipment, and the Ariane 5 ECA rocket carrier that boosted
it into orbit. Azercosmos expects the satellite will be worth
$500-600 million by the end of its 15 year lifespan.
Azerbaijan
will use around 20 percent of Azerspace-1's capacity for its own
domestic needs. The remaining 80 percent will be made available to
commercial customers. Preliminary agreements have already been
reached with several countries for the lease of Azerspace-1's satellite capacity.
Eastern
Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and North Africa all lie within
the coverage of Azerspace-1. The Azerbaijani satellite will offer
digital broadcasting services, data transmission, and access to
Internet on satellite connectivity. It can also support government
communication and serve as the backbone for multiservice VSAT
networks.
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