Nation secures independence in telecommunications sphere
Azerbaijan has completely eliminated its dependence in the telecommunications sphere, the President of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan (ANAS) Akif Alizade said.
He was speaking at an event held on the occasion of the begining of an international seminar dedicated to space and global navigation satellite systems.
Alizade noted that ten years ago, when Azerbaijan announced the launch of its satellites into orbit, people took a skeptical approach to this issue.
"However, the launch into orbit of Azerbaijan’s satellite showed that its intention was serious. The recent launch of the third satellite further expands Azerbaijan’s telecommunications capabilities," Alizadeh said.
He noted that most of the personnel working in this field are Azerbaijani specialists.
The president of the academy of sciences added that the space researches will strengthen international scientific cooperation.
The carrier rocket Ariane 5 with communication satellite Azerspace2/Intelsat 38 on its board was launched in the period between 01:53 and 02:38 hours (GMT + 4) on September 26.
The Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38 satellite has been designed to provide a number of telecommunication services and will serve two operators - Intelsat SA and Azercosmos OJSC.
The satellite will provide for "Azercosmos" OJSC the satisfaction of the growing demand for DTH (Direct-to-Home) satellite broadcasting services in Europe, Central and South Asia, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, and will provide for the Luxembourg office of the Intelsat company the continuity of servicing from the orbital position of 45 degrees, and will ensure the delivery of DTH services in Central and Eastern Europe, the AsiaPacific region, as well as the provision of communication services in Africa.
The satellite will offer enhanced capabilities, coverage and service offerings to support the growing demand in the region for direct access to DTH network by government and network services in Europe, Central and South Asia, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The manufacturer of the satellite is a subsidiary of the Canadian MDASpace Systems Loral (SSL) Corporation, and the general contractor of Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38 satellite is Maxar Technologies company.
The satellite is built on the 1300series platform (SS/L 1300), which is used to create medium and heavy geostationary and high-elliptical telecommunication satellites. The Azerspace-2/Intelsat-38 satellite is equipped with Ku-band transponders and is designed to provide digital broadcasting, data transmission and so on. The satellite was placed at an orbital position of 45 degrees. The lifetime of the satellite in orbit will be 15 years.
The new satellite worth $190 million is projected to bring $400million revenue to Azerbaijan’s economy.
Azerspace-1, the nation’s first satellite, was launched into orbit on February 8, 2013. This satellite was also launched from the Kourou space base by Arianespace company. At present, its service area includes countries of Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The Azerbaijani satellite provides a variety of services, such as digital television, data transmission, VSAT multi-service networks, and governmental communications.
The income from using the first telecommunications satellite amounted to $ 72 million. At the same time, the country earned $ 19 million from using the Azersky satellite, operating since 2014 and intended to monitor the surface of the Earth. Azerbaijan’s revenue from the operation of Azersky is expected to exceed $200 million within the next decade.