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Watch Video of the First Bangladeshi Satellite - Bangabandhu-1 launched on May 11, 2018
Video: Bangabandhu Satellite-1 Mission
Video description: SpaceX is targeting launch of Bangabandhu Satellite-1 on Friday, May 11 from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The two-hour launch window opens at 4:14 p.m. EDT or 20:14 UTC. A backup launch window opens on Saturday, May 12 at 4:15 p.m. EDT or 20:15 UTC.
Bangabandhu Satellite-1 will be deployed into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) approximately 33 minutes after launch.
The Bangabandhu Satellite-1 mission will be the first to utilize Falcon 9 Block 5, the final substantial upgrade to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Falcon 9 Block 5 is designed to be capable of 10 or more flights with very limited refurbishment as SpaceX continues to strive for rapid reusability and extremely high reliability.
Following stage separation, SpaceX will attempt to land Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
Wikipedia: The Bangabandhu-1 (BD-1) is the first Bangladeshi geostationary communications satellite. It was launched on May 11, 2018.[1] The project is being implemented by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and was the first payload launched by a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket.[3]
The Bangabandhu-1 satellite was initially planned to be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket on December 17, 2017, to celebrate Victory day of Bangladesh. Following the lack of firm guarantee from Arianespace for that date, BTRC chose Falcon 9 launch vehicle instead.[4] The satellite is expected to be located at the 119.1° East longitude geostationary slot. It is named after the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It is designed and manufactured by Thales Alenia Space and its launch provider is SpaceX. The total cost of the satellite was projected to be 248 million US dollars in 2015 (Tk 19.51 billion), financed via a $188.7 million loan from HSBC Holdings plc[5]. Bangabandhu Satellite-1 carries a total of 40 Ku-band and C-band transponders with a capacity of 1600 megahertz and a predicted life span to exceed 15 years.[6][7][8][9] The satellite will expand Ku-band coverage over all of Bangladesh and its nearby waters including the Bay of Bengal, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Indonesia. This is coupled with C-band coverage for all aforementioned areas.
Bangabandhu Satellite-1 was launched at 20:14 UTC on May 11, 2018,[1] on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle.[2] It is the first payload to be launched using the new Block 5 model of the rocket.[10][11]
The satellite was originally slated to launch May 10, 2018. However, the rocket carrying the payload triggered an automatic abort as it entered internal power and control at T-58 seconds. Soon after, the rocket launch was pushed back 24 hours, and it was finally launched on May 11, 2018.[12]
Bangabandhu-1 had been previously scheduled to fly on an Arianespace Ariane 5 ECA but Ariane was unable to meet the contractual launch date, which enabled the launch to be switched to its backup launcher, SpaceX.[13]
After launching the satellite, Bangladesh began to receive test signal from it on May 12, 2018. A ground station has been built in Bangladesh to control the satellite at Gazipur. A backup ground station also built in Rangamati.[14]
Image Bangabandhu Satellite-1 during launch:
