Angola has launched its second satellite, Angosat-2 on Wednesday, October 12, according to the country’s Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication (MINTTICS), Mário Augusto da Silva Oliveira.
“This is a communication satellite, it should cover not only Angola, but all of Africa in particular, those countries that border Angola as well as part of Europe,” Oliveira said.
Angosat-1 failed to operate nearly immediately after launch in 2017, hence Russia and Angola decided to replace it with Angosat-2 in April 2018.
The Minister also mentioned that Angola and the satellite operators would benefit from the launch’s telecommunications services. The whole African continent will be serviced, along with a sizable portion of Southern Europe.
Additionally, southern Africa will receive practically total Ku Band coverage from the satellite. The Minister also took notice of the Executive’s resolve to keep funding initiatives to develop the television broadcasting sector.
Angosat-2, weighing two tons, will be a High-throughput satellite (HTS), providing 13 gigabytes in each illuminated region (satellite signal range zones). The satellite will be based on the Eurostar-3000 platform and have a design lifespan of 15 years.
Angosat-2 was developed in Russia by Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Company, and the construction is at no new cost to Angola due to the insurance package from Angosat-1’s USD 300 million contract.