Azerspace to be launched in January

The first Azerbaijani telecommunications satellite Azerspace to be put into orbit is expected to be launched in January 2013, the Deputy Minister of Communications and IT of Azerbaijan Iltimas Mammadov informed. He said the satellite is on schedule and at the testing phase. The Azerspace satellite payload being built on the STAR-2 platform consists of 36 transponders (24 C-band transponders and 12 Ku-band transponders).

The frequency of each transponder is 36 MHz. The satellite exploitation term in orbit will last up to 15 years. The satellite which will be launched into a geostationary orbit 46 degrees east longitude is being leased from the Malaysian company Measat Satellite Systems, owned by the Malaysian government.

Azerspace's service area will include the countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia and North Africa. Azerbaijan's telecommunication satellite Azerspace is designed to render digital broadcasting services, Internet access and data transmission to create multiservice networks VSAT and governmental communication.

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