Bangabandhu Satellite-1

The Bangabandhu Satellite-1 (Bangabandhu-1) is the first Bangladeshi geostationary communications and broadcasting satellite. It is named after the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It was manufactured by Thales Alenia Space and launched on 12 May 2018.[1] The satellite was the first payload launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket.[3]

Bangabandhu Satellite-1
Falcon 9 rocket launching with Bangabandhu-1
Mission typeCommunications and Broadcasting Satellite
OperatorBangladesh Communication Satellite Company Limited
COSPAR ID2018-044A
SATCAT no.43462
WebsiteBangladesh Communication Satellite Company Limited, BCSCL, Bangabandhu Satellite Project
Mission duration15 years
Spacecraft properties
BusSpacebus-4000B2
ManufacturerThales Alenia Space
Launch mass~3,709 kg (8,177 lb)
Power6kW
Start of mission
Launch date12 May 2018, 20:14 UTC[1]
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5[2]
Launch siteKennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A
ContractorSpaceX
Orbital parameters
RegimeGEO
Longitude119.09°E
Eccentricity0.0001
Perigee altitude35789.3 km
Apogee altitude35798.5 km
Period1,436.1 minutes
Velocity3.07 km/s
Epoch6 June 2018
Transponders
Band14 C band, 26 Ku band
 
For other uses of the term Bangabandhu, see Bangabandhu (disambiguation).

Background

The project is being implemented by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) working hand-in-hand with US based Space Partnership International, LLC. The government-owned Bangladesh Communication Satellite Company Limited, BCSCL was formed with the aim of operating the satellite.[4]

The satellite will expand Ku-band coverage over all of Bangladesh and its nearby waters including the Bay of Bengal, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, eastern Indian states (West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachhal Pradesh)and Indonesia. This is coupled with C-band coverage for all aforementioned areas. It will be able to count holdings as well as measure population density, depending on the natural increase and the natural decrease of birth rates and death rates in a particular country. It scans the number of people per 1,000 sq. km with its advanced, installed technology such as cameras.

Bangabandhu-1 was initially planned to be launched on an Arianespace Ariane 5 ECA rocket on 16 December 2017 to celebrate the Victory day of Bangladesh. Following the lack of firm guarantee from Arianespace for that date, BTRC instead chose the Falcon 9 launch vehicle.[5] The satellite is expected to be located at the 119.1° East longitude geostationary slot.

Construction

Bangabandhu-1 was designed and manufactured by Thales Alenia Space. The total cost of the satellite was projected to be 248 million US dollars in 2015 (Tk 19.51 billion), financed via a $188.7 million loan from HSBC Holdings plc.[6] The satellite carries a total of 40 Ku-band and C-band transponders with a capacity of 1600 megahertz and a predicted life span to exceed 15 years.[7][8][9][10]

Map of satellite's position
Bangabandhu Satellite-1 position and its coverage area 119.09°E.

Launch
Bangabandhu Satellite-1 launch

Bangabandhu Satellite-1 was launched at 20:14 UTC on 11 May 2018,[1] on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle at the Kennedy Space Center, USA.[2] It was the first payload to be launched using the new SpaceX Block 5 model of the rocket.[11][12]

Aborted launch

The satellite was originally planned to launch 10 May 2018. However the rocket carrying the payload triggered an automatic abort as it entered internal power and control at T-58 seconds. The rocket launch was pushed back 24 hours, and it was finally launched on 11 May 2018.[13]

Operation
Bangabandhu-1 satellite ground station at Gazipur

The satellite uses ground control stations built by Thales Alenia Space with its partner Spectra primary ground station in Gazipur, with a secondary ground station at Betbunia, Rangamati[14] The first test signal after launch was received by the operators on 12 May 2018.

See also

References
  1. "SpaceX launch of first "block 5" Falcon 9 rocket scrubbed to Friday". Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  2. Krebs, Gunter. "Bangabandhu 1 (BD 1)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  3. "SpaceX launches Bangabandhu-1 with most powerful Falcon 9 rocket". The Daily Star. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  4. "Official Website of Bangabandhu Satellite -1 Operator Company : Bangladesh Communication Satellite Company Limited, BCSCL". 3 March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  5. "How Bangladesh became SpaceX's first Block 5 Falcon 9 customer". SpaceNews.com. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  6. Mahmud, Faisal (12 May 2018). "Bangladesh to join space age amid skepticism about costs". Nikkei Asian Review. The government borrowed 157.5 million euros ($188.7 million) from HSBC Holdings to finance the satellite.
  7. "Bangabandhu satellite deal inked with French firm". Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  8. "Bangabandhu-satellite-equipment-purchase-deal-signed". Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  9. "BTRC-Thales Alenia deal over Bangabandhu Satellite signed". Archived from the original on 15 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  10. "Bangladesh Taps Thales Alenia To Build 1st Telecom Satellite". Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  11. "Příprava na Block 5 probíhá na několika místech". www.kosmonautix.cz (in Czech). 15 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  12. "SpaceX to launch Bangabandhu-1 satellite atop Block 5, the most powerful Falcon 9 rocket to date". PBS News Hour. 11 May 2018.
  13. "Bangabandhu-1 successfully launched by first Block 5 Falcon 9 – SpaceX's goal of affordable access to space". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  14. "Bangladesh receives test signal from Bangabandhu-1 satellite". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
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