Photo courtesy of magenta-studio.ru
Launch of Kazsat-2 and construction of a new backup ground-based spacecraft control complex will enable Kazakhstan to save $30 million annually, KazKosmos [Kazakhstan Space Agency] Head Talgat Mussabayev told a briefing in Akkol September 14, Bnews.kz reports. “Today Kazakhstan’s mobile carriers pay about $30 million a year to foreign satellite operators. With KazSat-2 in place all the money will be retained in Kazakhstan”, he said. According to him, Kazakhstan is to complete its backup ground-based spacecraft control complex this year. “All satellite systems should have backup control centers. The backup control complex we can rely on is based in Russia. We pay $3 million for this service every year. Altogether, we can save $34 million”, Mr. Mussabayev said. Kazakhstan’s communications satellite KazSat-2 will be operable starting from late October 2011. Late August the satellite launched July 16, 2011 reached its orbital position. KazSat 2 is a Kazakh communication satellite designed by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. It features 12 Ku-band transponders for fixed communications and 4 Ku-band transponders for TV-transmissions and is intended for telecast, fixed satellite communication and data transmission for Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The unit weighs 1,330 kg, its service life is 12 years. According to Meirbek Moldabekov, Vice Chairman of KazKosmos, KazSat-2 cost $115 million and it will be recouped in 4 years’ time, if it is exploited at 80% of the capacities. It was to supplement the KazSat 1 satellite, but it has replaced Kazsat 1 due to the complete loss of the first satellite. Tengrinews.kz earlier reported that in 2012-2014 Kazakhstan plans to allocate $294.5 million to finance space exploration projects, quoting Finance Minister Bolat Zhamishev as saying at the government sitting August 27. Talgat Mussabayev is a Kazakh test pilot and former cosmonaut who flew on three spaceflights. His first two spaceflights were long-duration stays aboard the Russian space station Mir. His third spaceflight was a short duration visiting mission to the International Space Station, which also carried the first paying space tourist Dennis Tito.
Launch of Kazsat-2 and construction of a new backup ground-based spacecraft control complex will enable Kazakhstan to save $30 million annually, KazKosmos [Kazakhstan Space Agency] Head Talgat Mussabayev told a briefing in Akkol September 14, Bnews.kz reports.
“Today Kazakhstan’s mobile carriers pay about $30 million a year to foreign satellite operators. With KazSat-2 in place all the money will be retained in Kazakhstan”, he said.
According to him, Kazakhstan is to complete its backup ground-based spacecraft control complex this year.
“All satellite systems should have backup control centers. The backup control complex we can rely on is based in Russia. We pay $3 million for this service every year. Altogether, we can save $34 million”, Mr. Mussabayev said.
Kazakhstan’s communications satellite KazSat-2 will be operable starting from late October 2011. Late August the satellite launched July 16, 2011 reached its orbital position. KazSat 2 is a Kazakh communication satellite designed by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. It features 12 Ku-band transponders for fixed communications and 4 Ku-band transponders for TV-transmissions and is intended for telecast, fixed satellite communication and data transmission for Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The unit weighs 1,330 kg, its service life is 12 years. According to Meirbek Moldabekov, Vice Chairman of KazKosmos, KazSat-2 cost $115 million and it will be recouped in 4 years’ time, if it is exploited at 80% of the capacities.
It was to supplement the KazSat 1 satellite, but it has replaced Kazsat 1 due to the complete loss of the first satellite.
Tengrinews.kz earlier reported that in 2012-2014 Kazakhstan plans to allocate $294.5 million to finance space exploration projects, quoting Finance Minister Bolat Zhamishev as saying at the government sitting August 27.
Talgat Mussabayev is a Kazakh test pilot and former cosmonaut who flew on three spaceflights. His first two spaceflights were long-duration stays aboard the Russian space station Mir. His third spaceflight was a short duration visiting mission to the International Space Station, which also carried the first paying space tourist Dennis Tito.