AngoSat-1 at 13° East (Lost)
Position: | 13° East (Lost) |
Manufacturer: | RSC Energia |
Operator: | AngoSat |
Launch operator: | Sea Launch |
Launch vehicle: | Zenit 2F |
Launch date: | 12/27/2017 |
Expected lifetime: | 15+ Years |
The AngoSat-1 satellite at 13° East was developed and constructed by RSC Energia from Russia and the spacecraft’s communications payload was supplied by Airbus Defense & Space. The spacecraft carries up to 40 C- and Ku-band transponders and supports TV broadcasts, telephone service and the Internet and secure electronic services for the Angolan government.
The AngoSat-1 satellite at 13° East was originally supposed to be launched along the Energia 100 satellite on a Zenit-3SL launch vehicle with launch operator Sea Launch in 2016, but political tensions following the annexation of Crimea and Sea Launch legal issues made the use of the Ukrainian launcher uncertain. Finally a Zenit-3F rocket of was used for launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome on December 26th 2017.
After the satellite was delivered into orbit it encountered fatal problems with its power supply system. Contact with the satellite was lost and never recovered. In April 2018 Angola officially declared Angosat-1 satellite a total loss.
The built of the AngoSat-2 started immediately at no cost to Angola and would be covered with a 121 million USD insurance payment for the loss of Angosat-1 and the rest would be paid by the Russian government. The replacement satellite would have more capacity and be more sophisticated than Angosat-1.