China Hands Over NigComSat 1-R to Nigeria
SOURCE: China Space News
UPDATED: 2012-03-22
BEIJING, March 22 (China Space News) -- China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) handed the recently launched NigComSat 1-R to Nigeria Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) for commercial operation on Monday at the Obasanjo Space Center in Abuja.
NigComSat 1-R, which was launched on Dec. 20, 2011 and successfully positioned in its geostationary orbit a week later, has completed the in-orbit test.
"This event marks the beginning of full commercialization of the satellite for the benefit of Nigeria and indeed the Africa continent and the global community," said Turner T. Isoun, the NIGCOMSAT board chairman.
Nigeria's communications satellite NigComSat 1 was successfully launched in 2007 in China but de-orbited in November 2008 due to malfunction of the solar array deployment assembly. China decided in 2009 to build NigComSat 1-R to replace the defunct one without adding additional costs to Nigeria.
NigComSat-1R, covering Central, Western and Southern Africa, Central and Eastern part of Europe, and some areas of Mid-Asia, will be mainly used for communications, broadcasting, tele-education, broad-band multimedia service and navigation service.
NigComSat 1-R, which was launched on Dec. 20, 2011 and successfully positioned in its geostationary orbit a week later, has completed the in-orbit test.
"This event marks the beginning of full commercialization of the satellite for the benefit of Nigeria and indeed the Africa continent and the global community," said Turner T. Isoun, the NIGCOMSAT board chairman.
Nigeria's communications satellite NigComSat 1 was successfully launched in 2007 in China but de-orbited in November 2008 due to malfunction of the solar array deployment assembly. China decided in 2009 to build NigComSat 1-R to replace the defunct one without adding additional costs to Nigeria.
NigComSat-1R, covering Central, Western and Southern Africa, Central and Eastern part of Europe, and some areas of Mid-Asia, will be mainly used for communications, broadcasting, tele-education, broad-band multimedia service and navigation service.