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AZERSPACE-1 enters commercial service
Date: 03/04/13
AZERSPACE-1, launched on 7 February 2013 from the European Space Port in French Guiana, has successfully completed in-orbit testing and has entered full commercial service.
With its advanced design and switching capabilities, AZERSPACE-1 is now ready to provide communications services to customers in Azerbaijan, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Central Asia. AZERSPACE-1 covers Europe and Central Asia in Ku-band with two switchable beams; the whole Africa is connected to Central Asia and Europe in C-band by two switchable beams.
With an anticipated service life of more than 15 years, AZERSPACE-1is based on Orbital’s flight-proven GEOStar-2 platform and was launched aboard an Ariane 5 by Arianespace. The hybrid C- and Ku-band satellite generates approximately 5 kilowatts of payload power and carries 36 active transponders. It operates from an orbital location at 46° East Longitude through an arrangement between Azercosmos and MEASAT which owns the rights to the orbital slot.