After the completion of the construction and testing phase of ANGOSAT-2, the Angolan satellite is currently at the launch site, Baikonur, Kazakhstan, with launch scheduled for October 12, 2022. The statement was made by Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication (MINTTICS), Mário Oliveira, on the sidelines of the Opening Act of World Space Week 2022, this Tuesday, 4th, in Luanda.
With a High Data Transmission Rate (HTS), ANGOSAT-2 aims to ensure full coverage of the national territory and provide telecommunication services (telephony, internet, telemedicine, broadcasting and radio broadcasting).
After launch, ANGOSAT-2 will be placed in geostationary orbit, ie 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.
Satellite Mission Control Center (MCC)
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 guarantee 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 enable the reception, processing and sending of information to the satellite.
Ka-band antenna for in-orbit testing
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 the ANGOSAT-2 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 territory communications services throughout the national and regional, 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.