Angola's Angosat-2 satellite put in operation in orbit - Russia's Roscosmos

MOSCOW. Dec 23 (Interfax) - The Angosat-2 Angolan telecom satellite has passed tests in orbit and has commenced operation, Roscosmos said on Friday.

"Following the test flight, the satellite passed under the customer's control to be used as intended," it said.

The satellite has been tested in orbit for serviceability of utility systems and payload, Roscosmos said.

A Proton-M launch vehicle coupled with Angosat-2 blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on October 12.

Angosat-2 is a product of Roscosmos' Reshetnev Satellite Information Systems based on the Express-1000N platform of the same company. The satellite has a mass of about 1.7 tonnes and a service life of 15 years.

The satellite can provide telecom services, such as fixed and mobile communication, digital television and broadband Internet, to all of Africa and European countries.

Angosat-2 is a replacement of the lost Angosat-1, which was inserted into orbit by a Zenit rocket launched from Baikonur on December 26, 2018. It stopped transmitting telemetric data after reaching the target orbit. Specialists tried to reanimate the satellite in April 2019 when it entered the radio visibility zone, but finally declared it lost.