GGPEN Completes Formation and Assembly of Ka-Band Antenna

Earlier in 2021, Angola began upgrading the MCC via a Presidential decree that approved the upgrade of the existing ground infrastructure to handle Ka-band and HTS. The activities included conducting a visual inspection, verifying the operating status and observing the performance characteristics of radiofrequency equipment and the entire information technology infrastructure installed in the MCC. The maintenance also complied with the recommendation to perform a pre-assessment of the state of readiness of the installed infrastructures for the launch phase of ANGOSAT-2 later this year.

The maintenance of the radiofrequency system is also vital. This is as the infrastructure will be responsible for the communication between the MCC and the satellite. Pending the launch of ANGOSAT-2, the infrastructure has monitored around 96 carriers (communication channels) of satellite capabilities provided to Angola under the ANGOSAT-1 offsets.

Weighing two tons, Angosat-2 will also be a High Transmission Rate (HTS) satellite. It will provide 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.

Angola will not be footing Angosat-2’s cost. This is because of the insurance package from Angosat-1’s USD 300 million contract. Angola successfully launched Angosat-1 into space on December 26, 2017. However, there was a subsequent primary loss of contact as soon as the satellite entered orbit. The ground station recovered communications but permanently lost them soon after.