Country’s first-ever satellite likely to be launched in Dec

The work on the country's first-ever satellite project, Bangabandhu Sattelite-1, is going on in full swing, aiming to launch it on the Victory Day on 16 December this year.

Sources at the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry said 55 per cent work on the Bangabandhu Sattelite-1 has been completed.

Once launched, the Bangabandhu Satellite-1 will provide 40 different types of services. It is expected to bring revolutionary changes in telecommunications and broadcast services, the sources said.

The Bangabandhu Satellite with a capacity of 1,600 megahertz will have 40 transponders and the physical equipment of the space capsule that measures the capacity. Half of the capacity will be reserved for the country while the rest will be rented out.

In 2008, the Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission (BTRC) completed the primary works, including the submission of electronic filing to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), for launching the satellite.

The government has taken the most sophisticated technological project involving Tk 2,969 crore with a view to reducing dependence on foreign countries.

Contacted, state minister for Posts and Communications Tarana Halim said "The work on Bangabandhu Sattelite-1 is progressing fast for launching it on the Victory Day next. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to go to the USA for launching the satellite."

Talking to UNB, Posts and Telecommunications secretary Faizur Rahman Chowdhury, who has recently been transferred to another ministry, said, "Once the Bangabandhu Sattelite-1 is launched, the country's telecommunication sector will be able to move competitively with developed nations. That's why the government is giving priority to quick implementation of the project."

Project director of Bangabandhu Sattelite-1, Abdur Razzak, said, "Already 55 per cent work of the project has been completed. The construction work of two ground control stations in Gazipur and Betbunia are going on in full swing. We hope the work will be done in time."

Besides, the work for procuring equipment for the ground control station is underway, he said.

According to the sources, the work on Bangabandhu Sattelite-1 is going on under the facility of Thales Alenia Space of Cannes and Toulouse. Thales Alenia Space is in charge of the design, production, testing and the delivery in orbit of the satellite.

Bangabandhu Sattelite -1 is a satellite telecommunications system, comprising a satellite and the complete ground segment (control, mission and user segments).

It will be launched using vehicle -SpaceX and Falcon 9 -of United States from the Cape Carnival Launch Pad. An agreement has already been signed between SpaceX, USA and Launch Service Agreement of Thales.

On 9 September, 2016, an agreement of 157 million Euro (equivalent to Tk 1,400 crore) with Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) was signed for financing the project.

Bangladesh is currently meeting its satellite connectivity demand through renting a bandwidth from foreign operators and the country has to pay Tk 14 million US dollars a year for it. Once the project is implemented, it will help to save and earn foreign currency as the Bangabandhu Sattelite-1 will provide all kinds of telecommunications services.

Source: UNB