Africa-Press – Angola. The Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technology and Social Communication, said Thursday in Moscow, 24 hours after the launch of Angosat-2, that the satellite is moving at a slightly higher speed than expected, towards the parking point.
Mário Oliveira, who was speaking at the end of a fraternization visit, on the occasion of the launch of the satellite, made it known that the way he is making the trajectory to the parking point, will allow him to gain some more in the operationalization manoeuvres.
According to the information sent to earth by Telemetry, which is analyzed daily, either by the Russian teams or by the team of Angolan technicians at the Funda Space Station, in Angola, Angosat-2 presents an expected nominal behavior. “Today, the experts verified that the KU and C Band antennas are in good condition, and the panels are open”, said the minister.
The Angolan team, he clarified, is not limited to technicians who are in Russia. “We have a team at Funda that, at the moment, has been looking at the behavior of the satellite, and national staff are carrying out the verifications in the first instance, with the support of Russian specialists, from the Baikonur station and in Moscow.
Angosat-2, launched on Wednesday, is a reality and with this it is expected that in a short period of time, estimated at 90 days, telecommunications services via satellite will start, said the official.
For Mário Oliveira, Angosat-2 cannot be seen as an isolated piece within the country’s telecommunications ecosystem. In this regard, he stressed that Angola defined in its white paper a set of actions, the main objective of which is to make the country a telecommunications hub in Africa.
“The Angosat project fits into that objective set by the Angolan Government, which also includes the Submarine Optical Fiber networks and the National Optical Fiber networks”, he pointed out.
The Executive, he continued, wants the country to be at the forefront in the field of technological modernization. In this way, he reinforced, “we are going to take not only voice and data services to the common citizen, but also telecommunications services to companies, State administration and to the agriculture, industry, education and health sectors”.
“This set of services will provide technical conditions, in terms of technological infrastructures, to modernize Angolan society”, said the minister.
Mário Oliveira insisted on stating that, from the moment the country entered this path, with capacity not only in the space segment, but also in optical fiber, there is no way to return. “The country expects of us, and we are committed to the country and to the cause of the Angolan people. Above all, we are committed to making the country a better place to live”, he emphasized.
Satellite Is In Orbit
On the occasion, Minister Mário Oliveira reiterated that the Angosat-2 telecommunications satellite has been in orbit since 00:00 on Thursday, 7 hours after its launch.
By way of clarification, because of the concerns raised about the satellite’s entry into geostationary orbit or not, Mário Oliveira said “that Angosat-2 is already in orbit, and is just waiting for its space positioning, which should happen in the next few days” .
The arrival at your point of operation, which was scheduled for a period of 15 or 17 days, will happen earlier, depending on the speed you take in your trajectory.
Launch is a milestone in Angola-Russia relations
In turn, the Angolan ambassador to Russia and the community of independent countries, Augusto Silva Cunha, said that the launch of Angosat-2, by the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, is an important step in cooperation relations between Angola and Russia, in addition to to encourage the holding, in the short term, of the 6th session of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission between the two countries, to take place at the end of the year, in Luanda.
Augusto Silva Cunha highlighted, for this purpose, the economic, technical-scientific and cultural cooperation with Russia. Regarding the mixed meeting postponed since 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Admiral Augusto da Silva Cunha made it known that the Russian side has been concerned lately with its realization. In this regard, he stressed, “the ball is with the Russian side, because Angola is keen to receive them, taking into account that the 5th session took place in Moscow, in 2019.
According to the regulation, explained the ambassador, the meetings must be held in an alternating manner. The Russian commission should have held it in 2020, but because of the pandemic, it transferred it to the following year, 2021, he said, adding that the Angolan delegation was notified to travel to Moscow, but did not do so.
The diplomat underlined, by the way, that the country awaits Russia’s pronouncement. “There are many unsigned agreements on the 2019 agenda, including the Agreement on the Use of Space for Peaceful Purposes. “This Agreement should be initialed at the 6th session, to be held in Luanda.
Ambassador Augusto Silva Cunha addressed a special word to the Angolan technical team, for their commitment, high level of responsibility, high professional level, discipline and sense of mission demonstrated throughout the monitoring process until the Angosat-2 launch phase.
Investments
Heading the embassy in Russia for a year, the diplomat said that, from the information obtained, he realized that Russian businessmen had never been so keen to invest in Angola as they are now. “In recent years, we have received many Russian businessmen interested in investing in Angola,” he pointed out, adding that some were sent to the country, where they found partners to set up business.
Without going into details, he pointed out, by way of example, that from the group of entrepreneurs, there is one interested in investing in hospital serum, Iandex. In this context, he said that the biggest Russian taxi companies are already in Angola, and others are interested in making investments in the agro-industry.
Through the Angola-Russia Chamber of Commerce, it was possible to create this bridge between Russian and Angolan businessmen, a means that has benefited both parties, concluded the Angolan ambassador.
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