The Angosat-2 telecoms satellite that Russia is developing for Angola will be orbited in March 2022, Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Company General Director Nikolai Testoyedov told TASS on Tuesday.
"We are due to launch the satellite in March 2022," the company’s chief said.
The company is now making the satellite platform, he added.
"The work on the payload of the European company Airbus is the project’s most critical part. That is why, we have established all the necessary relationships, held meetings and are continuing this work. Simultaneously, we have started new work for the Angosat - our satellite platform," he stressed.
The company will create the platform very quickly using its accumulated potential and considering that its production process is highly unified. Now the work is proceeding according to the schedule approved by the customer, the chief said.
The Angosat-1 telecoms satellite was launched by a Zenit-2SB carrier rocket with a Fregat booster from the Baikonur spaceport on December 26, 2017. The contact with the satellite was lost on December 27 after its separation from the booster. Attempts to restore the contact with the satellite were made until mid-January 2018 while it stayed within the area of direct radio visibility from the territory of Russia. After that, the Angolan side recognized the Angosat-1 telecoms satellite as unserviceable.
At the same time, Russia’s Energia Space Rocket Corporation reported that Russia and Angola had agreed on making the Angosat-2 satellite instead of the lost space vehicle. The Russian side will also provide C-and Ku-band frequency resources to Angola for communications while the second satellite is being manufactured.
The Energia Space Rocket Corporation reported in its consolidated financial statements in May that the work to develop and launch the Angosat-2 telecoms satellite for Angola to replace its predecessor Angosat-1 that was out of order had been assigned to the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Company.
Source: https://tass.com/science/1196077