Africa-Press – Angola. The Angosat-2 satellite, in orbit for over a month, is already in operational condition to market telecommunications services, announced this Thursday in Luanda, the Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication.
Mário Oliveira said, on the occasion, that the Angolan Government had signed a protocol with the Russian side for the conclusion of the final tests of the Angosat-2, launched into space, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
Speaking at the presentation session of the National Space Program – its valences and benefits, promoted by the National Space Program Management Office (GGPN), Minister Mário Oliveira stressed that the signature of the “Acceptance Protocol” validates the technical-operational condition of the satellite .
He referred that the signature of the reputed instrument is a certification that Angosat-2 is technically operating, as it was conceived. This step is a very important milestone for this great project, the National Space Programme, underlined the minister, adding that “from here we are going to start another stage for the commercial operation of Angosat-2, so that it can fulfill its mission of being at the service of the national economy”.
“Today Angosat-2 is ours, passing into the hands of our staff. Those were years of hard work and a lot of sacrifice”, underlined the Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, revealing great satisfaction.
Asked about the subsequent steps, Mário Oliveira said that he is following the preparation of the teams, so that the satellite actually serves the national economy and provides telecommunications, information technology and associated services.
The minister referred that some countries have already expressed their intention to buy the services. “We have been contacted by countries, especially those in the region, in order to provide services from Angosat-2. I believe that the satellite will soon be at the service of these States”, he stressed.
With this step, he clarified, the responsibility of the Russian part ends, but only with regard to the equipment. “Because, from a technological point of view, there is still a set of other tasks in which cooperation with Russia will be very present in this matter”.
Angosat-2 will be at the service of all of us, said the minister, adding that it will be available to telecommunications companies, defense and security bodies, agriculture, marine and mineral resources. “Angosat will be at the service of Angola, the Angolans and the national economy”, he pointed out.
GGPN leads SADC project
In this line of thought, Mário Oliveira, said, by the way, that the team of the National Space Program Management Office leads the satellite projects in the SADC region.
A challenge that takes place within what is the country’s strategy for space, according to the minister.
“We are also spokespersons for the regional organization, in what has to do with the Space Program, together with the International Telecommunications Organization”, said the minister, considering a very important gain for the country. “All this was only possible because of the investment by the Government in recent years, mainly in training staff”.
National Space Program
At the level of the National Space Programme, there is a large component linked to the training of staff, and in this regard, he stressed, Angola has national specialists prepared for the technical management of the satellite.
Since the launch of Angosat-2, on 12 October, he recalled, the satellite has been operated from Luanda, by Angolan technicians, who have the support of the Russian side.
The Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, Mário Oliveira, explained that the National Space Program is not limited to Angosat-2. “The satellite is just one of the components of the program, which joins the training of staff, which has to do with another aspect”, he explained.
When we talk about the National Space Program, Angosat-2 comes in, one of the most modern communications satellites that can exist today, with the capacity to provide services, in general, to the entire African continent and Southern Europe.
With the satellite, the country gains a very important tool that will contribute to technological modernization, in terms of telecommunications and information technologies, said the minister.
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
