Angola’s telecommunications are due to take a giant step forward today when the Angosat-2 satellite is launched into orbit aboard a Russian rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Angola’s Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, Mário Augusto Oliveira, said that all technical procedures had been approved and the satellite is ready to be launched.
Augusto Oliveira also said that he believes, based on the reports by the technical team, that the launch will go well.
In December 2017 the first Angola satellite, Angosat-1, which was also launched by a Russian rocket, and sponsored with a US$280 million loan by a bank consortium, was lost in space five days after it started orbiting Earth.
Angosat-2 is part of a programme that includes the National Fibre Optic Network and the Submarine Fibre Optic Network.
“Angosat is a component of this ecosystem with a view to improve Angola’s communications,” said Augusto Oliveira.
The minister said that the satellite will cover all of Africa and a significant part of Europe.