LIFT-OFF

Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana. 8 February 2013. Azerbaijan has successfully launched its first telecommunications satellite AzerSpace-1.   Provisionally, in early March, the satellite will be officially handed over to the control of Azerbaijani experts. At the present moment staff at the main Flight Control Centre of the "Azerkosmos" OJSC are busy preparing for its commercial operation.

An historic day

At the beginning of December last year, the American Orbital Sciences Corporation, having assembled the AzerSpace-1 satellite, completed all testing of the equipment, and in January this year the commercial vehicle was delivered to the Kourou cosmodrome where pre-launch preparations have been held over the past few weeks. And then, at 01.35 Baku time on 8 February, Azerbaijan's first national satellite weighing 3.2 tonnes was placed into orbit by a powerful Ariane-5ECA booster rocket produced by the French Arianespace company. At the same time as the Azerbaijani communications satellite, and by the same booster rocket, the Amazonas-3 satellite, launched on commission of the Spanish HispaSat operator, was also placed into orbit. Thirty-four minutes after launching AzerSpace-1 was successfully separated from the booster rocket and placed into a temporary geostationary orbit.

"Today marks a milestone in the history of our country: 8 February 2013 will be remembered by our people as the day we conquered outer space. This event clearly shows that the development of an independent Azerbaijan is intensive and comprehensive and we are now de-facto members of the international space club," said President Ilham Aliyev, congratulating the Azerbaijani people on the launching of the first telecommunications satellite.

Watching the launching of the satellite at Flight Control Centre (FCC) in Baku, the head of state expressed his gratitude to all the country's organizations and foreign experts who took part in preparing the space programme. "The young specialists of "Azerkosmos" who are here today in the flight control room are professionals in the sphere of outer space, and we are very pleased that most of them are citizens of Azerbaijan," President Ilham Aliyev stressed. "At the same time the launching of the national satellite into orbit was the result of close international cooperation and, in particular, the support of such world renowned companies as the American Orbital Sciences Corporation and the French Arianespace. Successful cooperation in space is clear evidence of our country's effective integration into the international economic and technological space, the wonderful benefits of which we are reaping today," he said.

According to the head of state, our country has stepped up its efforts with the aim of placing two new satellites into orbit in 2015 and 2016. Excellent opportunities will be created in Azerbaijan to create a space industry, as well as to develop information and communications technologies in general. Based on knowledge, intellect and innovative business, the sphere of ICT is the foundation of the successful, steady development of any modern country, and Azerbaijan, where the year 2013 has been declared the Year of ICT, is successfully assimilating this strategically important sphere of activity.

And so, the large-scale preparatory work to implement the national space programme, which has been in progress for about five years, has ended in great triumph. Azerbaijan has become the first state in the Caspian region to successfully place a communications satellite into a geostationary orbit, as well as create an extensive ground-based VSAT-communications infrastructure, a main and a reserve flight control station and lay the foundations for a space industry.

Right on course

A most important element of our country's space programme is the formation of a strong ground-based infrastructure providing control tasks and the commercial exploitation of the AzerSpace-1 satellite and other types of space apparatus in the near future. In the second half of last year all work was completed on building the main and reserve flight control centres in Baku and Naxcivan.

The site of the main FCC is situated about 20 kilometres south-west of Baku, not far from the village of Guzdak. In an area surrounded by hills a hi-tech style building of the administrative complex has been constructed from where, among other things, control of the satellite is carried out. Nearby there is a separate technical block where special receiving and broadcasting equipment is stored, and next to it there are four parabolic aerials providing space communications.  High-voltage power lines have been laid to all FCC facilities and the centre is also linked with the Xirdalan ATS by means of an optic-fibre cable.

All operations to control the space apparatus are carried out in the vast satellite operations hall. Here the vital telemetric parameters of the space vehicle are displayed on numerous monitors and TV screens suspended on the central wall. Among other things, calculations of the satellite's orbit are carried out, commands are relayed to the satellite and communications made with the second reserve FCC in the Naxcivan Autonomous Republic.

"The AzerSpace-1 telecommunications satellite is proceeding according to schedule," Rasad Nabiyev, chairman of "Azerkosmos" said. Provisionally, in the middle of February its movement will be adjusted into a geostationary orbit slot to positions of 46 deg longitude east, temporarily under lease from the Malaysian operator MeaSat Satellite Systems. According to the "Azerkosmos" chief, as a consequence the orbit of the national satellite will be switched to its fixed position of 43.2, 58.5 and 96 deg longitude east. At the conclusion of tests, in early March full control over the satellite will be handed over to Azerbaijani experts and then preparations for its commercial exploitation will commence. The first financial proceeds from the leasing of the free resources of the national satellite are expected sometime in May this year.

The first national satellite has been designed to provide digital television and radio broadcasting services, access to the internet, transmission of data and the creation of multi-service VSAT communications, as well as providing secret government communications. In order to carry out these functions AzerSpace-1 was assembled on the basis of the Star-2 Bus using the very latest technological achievements. Twenty-two satellites have been assembled worldwide on this basis and they are extremely reliable and are functioning successfully.

"Azerbaijan's requirements in the use of the switching potential of the satellite are not more than 20% and the remaining resources of the space apparatus will be leased by the international operator on a commercial basis. Today the main leaseholder of these resources is the Malaysian operator MeaSat Satellite Systems, which has acquired about 42% of the satellite's resources," Nabiyev said. It is for this reason that a third FCC is being created in the Southeast Asian region, in the town of Cyberjaya, a key innovative and IT centre of Malaysia. The purpose of this facility is the commercial exploitation of the satellite's communication resources.

Commercially viable

The extremely fortunate orbital position of the Azerbaijani satellite will mean it can provide communications to countries with a more receptive and dynamically developing ICT market. We are talking mainly about the Southern European region, North Africa, Central Asia, Southern Caucasus and the Near East. Ongoing talks on leasing are already underway with satellite communications operators and other potential clients.

The commercial positions of AzerSpace-1 are just as successful in the domestic market. "Generally speaking, we are prepared to offer a platform for IP-Protocol and supply internet traffic to clients who wish to receive it. However, the main purpose of the national satellite will be to provide services to radio-and-television and telecommunications companies," Nabiyev believes. "This is linked in many ways with the specific qualities of satellite communications, because space operators throughout the world, as a rule, are not in a position to provide lower tariffs for internet traffic than companies using ground-based optical fibre lines for these purposes." Apart from Azerbaijani broadcasting companies and communications operators, "Azerkosmos" is also expecting orders from major foreign structures in the country, especially those operating in the energy sphere, such as BP and other participants in the oil consortium.

The use of the potential of AzerSpace-1 in our country will help to reduce expenditure on the creation of a ground-based telecommunications infrastructure, thereby helping to reduce tariffs for communications services. Another advantage would be providing universal digital television broadcasting, in particular HD-television. Where necessary the satellite's potential can be used for the requirements of the Emergencies Ministry and other security structures.

The wide-ranging possibilities for the exploitation of the satellite both domestically and abroad give confidence to "Azerkosmos" which is relying on the commercial appeal of the Azerbaijani satellite project. According to preliminary estimates, the satellite project will pay for itself in investments within 5-7 years. The amount of revenue from the exploitation of AzerSpace will be AZN 495m, and net profit is predicted at AZN 176m.

In the next three years Azerbaijan will be launching another two satellites into space. A close-orbit satellite for sensing the earth's surface will be launched in 2015, followed by a second telecommunications apparatus in 2016. "Azerkosmos" will shortly be naming the winners of a recent tender to select the contractors for the construction, orbiting and insurance of the close-orbit optical satellite. A business plan is being drawn up for this purpose and talks are being held with potential clients who in the future will be the purchasers of optical and radar images of the earth's surface taken from space. The creation of a universal ground-based station of optical satellite services and the purchase of a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system are planned in Azerbaijan within the framework of the launching of the close-orbit satellite. This complex will be used for the reception of images from other satellites flying over our region, and also meet requirements in optical and radar photographs on regional markets.