বঙ্গবন্ধু
Bangabandhu-1, a communications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space for Bangladesh’s Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, launched in May 2018 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Bangabandhu-1 and PSN-6 added C- and Ku-band capacity over markets served by APT Satellite.
Bangabandhu-1 completed its first full year of operations in 2019.
Bangladesh has started commercial operations with the Bangabandhu-1 satellite launched in 2018.
Bangabandhu-1 is operated by the Bangladesh Communication Satellite Company.
Bangabandhu-1 is a 3,500-kilogram communications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space.
Sonali Bank signed a memorandum of understanding to use Bangabandhu-1 for communications services.
Bangladesh launched the Bangabandhu-1 satellite in 2018.
The Falcon 9 booster used on the 2018-12-03 mission previously launched Bangladesh’s Bangabandhu-1 satellite in May and the Merah Putih (formerly Telkom-4) satellite in August for Telkom Indonesia.
The Falcon 9 first stage used for the 2018-08-07 launch previously flew in May carrying the Bangabandhu-1 satellite for Bangladesh.
India’s GSAT-17, Laos’ LaoSat-1, and Bangladesh’s Bangabandhu-1 satellites, all launched within the past few years, carry C-band payloads for telecom services in Asia.
BTRC purchased a turnkey contract for Bangabandhu-1 from Thales Alenia Space in 2015 for $248,000,000 that included construction of ground infrastructure for satellite operations and provisioning of a launch vehicle.
Thales Alenia Space originally planned to launch Bangabandhu-1 on an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket but switched to SpaceX at Bangladesh’s request.
The Block 5 Falcon 9 deployed Bangladesh’s first telecom satellite, Bangabandhu-1, to geostationary transfer orbit just under 34 minutes after liftoff on 2018-05-11.
Bangabandhu-1 carries 26 Ku-band transponders and 14 C-band transponders and is designed to operate for at least 15 years in geostationary orbit.
BTRC estimates that Bangabandhu-1 will save Bangladesh around $14,000,000 that the country currently spends leasing capacity from foreign operators.
Sajeeb Wazed estimated the savings from Bangabandhu-1 at about $15,000,000 to $30,000,000.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket on 2018-05-11 that delivered the Bangabandhu-1 satellite to geostationary transfer orbit.
BTRC sought to launch Bangabandhu-1 on 2017-12-16 to coincide with Bangladesh’s Victory Day, but SpaceX delays prevented that timing.
SpaceX will take extra time after the Bangabandhu-1 launch to disassemble and inspect the Block 5 rocket.