MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. Russia is ready to offer the services of its Express-AM8 communications satellite to Argentina, Yevgeny Buidinov deputy general director of the Space Communications state operator, announced on Wednesday.
He was speaking during an expert discussion on the topic: "The future of outer space in international politics: challenges and opportunities for cooperation between Russia and Argentina." The meeting was organized by the Valdai club in partnership with the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI).
"As part of the mutual cooperation of our countries, we could offer Express-AM8, which is located at 14 degrees West longitude and covers both the European continental part and the territory of Central and South America," he said.
The uniqueness of this communication satellite is that it has two service zones, can provide services in each zone separately and also make intercontinental traffic transfers from the European zone to South America and vice versa, he explained.
The operator’s representative recalled that Express-AM8 was used to broadcast the FIFA World Cup which was held in Russia. Then the signal was transmitted and received in Peru, Chile and Colombia. Also, when Argentina hosted the G-20 summit, news events were transmitted through the device to the territory of Russia.
"To ensure the reliability and quality of services in South America, we have a monitoring station in Brazil. It has been operating for almost five years and gives us the opportunity to control the provision of services and quality on this territory," Buidinov added.
The Express-AM8 communications satellite was launched into the target orbit on September 15, 2015.
The spacecraft weighing 2.1 tonnes was designed by the order of the Space Communications state operator. It is based on the Express-1000NTV medium-class platform developed by the Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev company. The French company Thales Alenia Space also participated in the creation of the device. The satellite provides high-quality services for fixed and mobile communications, digital TV and radio broadcasting, high-speed Internet access, data transmission, as well as presidential and government communications. Its operational life is 15 years.