Azerspace will be Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

's first satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

. Built by Orbital Sciences Corporation

Orbital Sciences Corporation

Orbital Sciences Corporation is an American company which specializes in the manufacturing and launch of satellites. Its Launch Systems Group is heavily involved with missile defense launch systems...

, it is to be launched into orbit in July or August 2012 from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana

French Guiana

French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...

 at orbital positions 46° East.. Arianespace

Arianespace

Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial space transportation company. It undertakes the production, operation, and marketing of the Ariane 5 rocket launcher as part of the Ariane programme....

 will launch the satellite through Ariane 5ECA rocket carrier

Ariane 5

Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...

. The satellite will cover Europe and significant part of Asian countries and Africa and will have transmission for TV, radio broadcasting and the internet.

Satellite specifications

Construction of the satellite will cost US$

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

 120 million and to be established by Orbital Sciences Corporation

Orbital Sciences Corporation

Orbital Sciences Corporation is an American company which specializes in the manufacturing and launch of satellites. Its Launch Systems Group is heavily involved with missile defense launch systems...

. Arianespace

Arianespace

Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial space transportation company. It undertakes the production, operation, and marketing of the Ariane 5 rocket launcher as part of the Ariane programme....

’s president Jean-Yves Le Gall emphasized that the weight of the satellite would be 3 tonnes.In April 2011, Export-Import Bank of the United States

Export-Import Bank of the United States

The Export-Import Bank of the United States is the official export credit agency of the United States federal government. It was established in 1934 by an executive order, and made an independent agency in the Executive branch by Congress in 1945, for the purposes of financing and insuring...

 has approved financing of this project as 85 percent of construction cost which will be provided to the Azerbaijani side in the form of a loan, while the remaining 15 percent will be paid by state funds. The funds will be issued to Azerkosmos OJSC.

Orbit

The satellite will be based on Orbital’s flight-proven STAR-2 platform and will generate approximately five kilowatts of payload power for 36 active transponders. Upon completion of in-orbit testing, operational control of the satellite will be handed over to Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Communications and IT. Term of exploitation of the satellite will be 20 years. Satellite has 4 fixed beams in Ku and C bands, coverage maps published on internet.

Current operation

The satellite's operations will be controlled by a state-run company, AzerSpace, operating under the Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Communications and IT.

Launch

On 23 November 2011, it was confirmed the launch will be proceeded withing expected timetable in 2012.

Future plans

The launch of its own satellite on orbit will be Azerbaijan's first action in realizing prospective projects to turn itself into a country with a space industry.In addition, deputy director of Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency

Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency

Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency (ANASA; , is a governmental body that coordinates all Azerbaijani space research programs with scientific and commercial goals...

, Tofig Suleymanov in April 2011 hinted that Azerbaijan may launch second artificial satellite to study the Earth's interior and atmosphere in 2014. In 26 November 2011, Head of Azercosmos, Rashad Nabiyev has reported that launch of the second satellite expected to be be start at 2015.

See also

• Timeline of first orbital launches by country
• List of orbits
• Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency
  Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency
  Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency (ANASA; , is a governmental body that coordinates all Azerbaijani space research programs with scientific and commercial goals...