Bangabandhu Satellite 1

A satellite refers to an artificial body placed in orbit a round the earth or another planet in order to collect information or for communication. The bangabandhu satellite-1 is the first Bangladeshi geostationary communications satellite. The satellite has been named after the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

It was designed and manufactured by Thales Alenia space and its launch provider was spaceX. Its launch station was Kennedy space Center on Merrit Island, Florida, USA and the ground control stations are in Betbunia and Gazipur in Bangladesh. The satellite was expected to be located at the 119.1° East longitude gestationary slot.

With a total mass of 3700 KG and powered by to deploybal solar arrays and batteries, the expected longevity of the satellite is 15 years. The satellite provides Ku- band and C- band television broadcast and data relay services across Bangladesh and neighbouring areas. This satellite will bring about enormous development and on interrepreted telecommunication system in Bangladesh.

At present, the countries television channels have been ranking bandwidth from Chinese, Indian and Singaporean satellite at a cost of about $14 million a year. It is expected that Bangladesh will not only save such amount of money in the future but also would earn a lot by letting other countries to lease the unused bandwidth. The launch of satellite Bangabandhu-1 by Bangladesh brings both prospects and challenges as it is expected to help the country save foreign currency, while the challenges remain in effectively running the venture.