Bangabandhu satellite paragraph
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Bangabandhu 1 (BD-1), the first geostationary communications satellite of Bangladesh, was developed by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). The satellite was launched into geostationary earth orbit (GEO) in May 2018.
Located at 119.1°E longitude orbital position, Bangabandhu 1 provides broadcasting and telecommunication services to rural areas in Bangladesh. It also supports profitable services, including direct-to-home (DTH) services.
It offers Ku-band and C-band services across Bangladesh and its territorial waters of the Bay of Bengal, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
The satellite enables the nation to save approximately BDT1.08bn ($14m) spent on satellite rents a year. BTRC also plans to launch follow-on series of BD-2 and BD-3 satellites in phases.
Bangabandhu satellite 1 design and development
Based on the Spacebus 4000B2 platform developed by Thales Alenia Space, the Bangabandhu satellite has a launch mass of 3,500kg. It includes two deployable solar arrays with batteries and has a design lifespan of 15 years.
Thales Alenia Space was selected as the prime contractor to provide turnkey systems, including design, production, and testing services for the BD-1 satellites, in November 2015. The contractual scope also includes the development of the ground segment.
BD-1 satellite’s communications module integration work was carried out at Thales Alenia Space’s plant located in Toulouse, France.
The critical design review (CDR) of BD-1 satellite was completed in January 2017. The service module for the satellite was manufactured at Cannes and satellite mating was completed in March 2017.
Thales Alenia Space Belgium, Thales Alenia Space Italia and Thales Alenia Space España were also involved in the development of the satellite and its ground components.