The country’s first space satellite Bangabandhu-1 is now finally expected to launch on May 10, following a series of delays and rescheduling.
US aerospace company SpaceX has informed Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission about the latest launching date following a successful testing on May 04, BTRC officials told FE.
“We are now expecting the satellite to launch on May 10 at 4 PM Florida time, given the weather and everything else is favorable”, said Project Director of Bangabandhu-1 Satellite Project Mohammad Mesbahuzzaman.
A high level delegation led by State Minister Tarana Halim will leave Dhaka Monday to witness the event in Florida, USA.
The launching date of Bangabandhu-1 has already been deferred several times over the last few months.
The satellite with a capacity of 1,600 megahertz will have 40 transponders and the physical equipment of the space capsule that measures the capacity.
On October 21, 2015, the Cabinet Purchase Committee approved the project to buy the satellite system.
Later, BTRC signed a deal involving Tk 20 billion with Thales Alenia Space to construct the first-ever satellite project.
On September 9, 2016, an agreement of 157 million Euro with Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) was signed for financing the project.
Bangabandhu-I, to be launched from Florida's Cape Canaveral launching pad, would take eight days to reach its orbital slot at 119.1 degrees east. Falcon 9, one of the SpaceX's finest launch vehicles will be used for Bangabandhu-1.
Bangladesh is currently meeting its satellite connectivity demand through renting a bandwidth from foreign operators and the country has to pay Tk 14 million a year for it.
Once the project is implemented, officials said, it will save and earn foreign currency as the Bangabandhu Sattelite-1 will provide all kinds of telecommunications services.
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