AngoSat-2 to be launched by March 2022

Angola’s Angosat-2 satellite is getting ready to be launched into space for 2022. The telecoms satellite is being developed in Russia by Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Company. Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Company General Director, Nikolai Testoyedov mentioned that “We are due to launch the satellite in March 2022… the company is now making the satellite platform”.

“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”.

“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”, he said.

Meteorological factors account into launching satellites and it is difficult to give an exact date for the launch.

Speaking on the update, the Director-General of National Space Management Program (GGPEN), Engineer Zolana Rui added that “the process is an important stage because it involves finishing the module or the part that receives the payload, a component that integrates the antennas and the communication system that will allow the ANGOSAT-2 to communicate with the equipment reception and transmission systems installed on land”. He also guaranteed that Angola has a team of 45 technicians in permanent contact with the Russian side, among which are 15 Engineers in the first line in the most diverse specialities to accompany the whole process.

The modular structure of the satellite will soon be on its way to Europe by October for insertion of all the components that will guarantee the reliability of the communication.

The Angosat-2 satellite is a replacement for Angosat-1 which was lost on December 27, 2017, also in an agreement with the Russian company.