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Russian space firm to make Angosat-2 telecoms satellite for Angola by late 2021

Roscosmos Chief Dmitry Rogozin earlier said that the Angosat-2 would differ radically from its predecessor

MOSCOW, January 21. /TASS/. Russia’s Energia Space Rocket Corporation will make an Angosat-2 telecommunications satellite for Angola by the end of 2021 to replace its predecessor Angosat-1 that is out of operation, Deputy Head of the State Space Corporation Roscosmos for Relations with State Authorities Sergei Dubik said on Tuesday.

"The Angosat-2 satellite is currently being manufactured. According to the latest data, the planned term, as reported by Energia CEO Nikolai Sevastyanov, is the end of 2021," the Roscosmos official said in the lower house of Russia’s parliament.

The Angolan side was choosing the producer of the new satellite between two enterprises: the Energia Space Rocket Corporation and the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Company, he said.

"As a result, they decided that Energia will be making the satellite," the Roscosmos official said.

Roscosmos Chief Dmitry Rogozin earlier said that the Angosat-2 would differ radically from its predecessor. He noted that the issues of relations between the Energia Space Rocket Corporation and the Angolan customer were also tackled at the inter-governmental level.

Angosat-1 satellite

The Angosat-1 telecoms satellite was launched by a Zenit-2SB carrier rocket with a Fregat booster from the Baikonur spaceport on December 26, 2017. The contact with the satellite was lost on December 27 after its separation from the booster. The attempts to restore the contact with the satellite were made until mid-January 2018 while it stayed within the area of direct radio visibility from the territory of Russia.

The Angolan side recognized the Angosat-1 telecoms satellite as unserviceable. At the same time, Energia reported that Russia and Angola had agreed on making the Angosat-2 satellite instead of the lost space vehicle. The Russian side will also provide C-and Ku-band frequency resources to Angola for communications while the second satellite is being manufactured.

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