A Ukrainian-built Zenit booster and a Russian-made Fregat upper stage launched with an Angolan communications satellite Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, heading for an orbital perch more than 22,000 miles above Earth.
A nearly 20-story-tall Zenit rocket lifted off with the Angosat 1 spacecraft at 1900 GMT (2 p.m. EST) Tuesday from Site 45 at the historic spaceport in Kazakhstan, where launch occurred at 1 a.m. Wednesday local time.
A live webcast of the launch provided by Roscosmos showed the Zenit booster climbing through low clouds over the frigid launch base, heading northeast over the Kazakh steppe.
Deployment of the 3,631-pound (1,647-kilogram) Angosat 1 satellite from the Zenit's Fregat upper stage is expected at 0354 GMT Wednesday (10:54 p.m. EST Tuesday) after three Fregat engine burns to place the spacecraft into a circular geostationary orbit nearly 22,300 miles (nearly 35,800 kilometers) over the equator.
[...] Angosat 1 is Angola's first communications satellite, the product of an inter-governmental agreement signed between the Angolan and Russian governments in 2009. Built by RSC Energia, a major Russian aerospace contractor, Angosat 1 is designed for a 15-year mission providing television broadcast, Internet, radio and other telecommunications services to Angola, the rest of Africa and parts of Europe.
The satellite carries 16 C-band and six Ku-band transponders, and controllers will position it along the equator at 13 degrees east longitude to start its mission.
Airbus Defense and Space reportedly supplied the communications payload for the Angosat 1 satellite.
Russian engineers also helped construct and activate a satellite control center near the Angolan capital of Luanda on the southwest coast of Africa, where officials will oversee Angosat 1 operations.
The launch of Angosat 1 aboard a Zenit rocket is a rare example of cooperation between Russia and Ukraine, whose relations have soured since 2014 with Russia's annexation of Crimea and involvement in an ongoing civil war.
Related Stories
Russia Restores Contact With AngoSat-1 Satellite
Russia has stated that it has restored contact with Angola's first satellite, AngoSat-1, that was launched by a Zenit rocket on Tuesday, December 26, 2017.
According to RSC Energia, which manufactured the satellite and controls its operations in space, its operators worked on the issue and on Thursday, Dec. 28, telemetry data indicated that the spacecraft's systems are operating normally.
"Experts from the Energia Corporation have received telemetry data from the AngoSat satellite launched by the Zenit-3SLBF space rocket from the Baikonur spaceport on December 26. The satellite has provided telemetry data showing that all its systems settings are in order," RSC Energia said in a statement.
Also at Satellite Today.
Previously: Angola's First Communications Satellite Lifts Off from Kazakhstan
Russia Blames Human Error for Loss of Angolan Satellite
(Score: 2) by beckett on Wednesday December 27 2017, @11:10AM (3 children)
Russianspaceweb [russianspaceweb.com] has a more detailed, multi-part article that discusses the technical aspects of the satellite, geopolitics surrounding the program, and lotsa pictures.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday December 27 2017, @08:54PM (2 children)
What I learned is that Angola lent its name to this project, and nothing else.
The most telling line in your link was:
The Russians have long wanted, but never really achieved a permanent foothold in Africa.
Too bad that wasn't the case with the Portuguese [wikipedia.org].
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 27 2017, @10:38PM (1 child)
You managed to leave out a giant piece of the picture.
In short, the presence of Soviet/Russian and Cuban forces was Anti-Imperialism against the Capitalist White Supremacist colonial ally of USA.gov.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 27 2017, @10:52PM
Note how far it is from South Africa's border to Angola. [amazonaws.com]
What South Africa was after (besides White rule in the region):
Angolan exports: crude oil, petroleum products, diamonds, fish, fish products, coffee, sisal, cotton, lumber
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by pkrasimirov on Wednesday December 27 2017, @03:27PM (1 child)
Contact lost soon after deployment
(Score: 2) by fishybell on Wednesday December 27 2017, @05:24PM
Or that's what they want you to think...
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 27 2017, @04:37PM
The communications system consisted of one bongo drum, but they forgot to send the operator.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Grishnakh on Wednesday December 27 2017, @05:51PM
This is a good start, but Angola needs to establish its own space agency, so they can join the ranks of nations like Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, UAE, Costa Rica, Mongolia, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, and Uruguay,
In doing so, they'll be far ahead of Australia, which still has no space agency.