Russian satellite manufacturer, RSC Energia has confirmed that they have re-established communications with Angosat 1 satellite. The satellite is Angola’s first and will be used for broadcasting and communications purposes.
Late last year, RSC Energia lost contact with the Angosat 1 satellite following its launch aboard a Soyuz rocket. The satellite was deployed successfully into orbit 36,000 kilometres (22,300 miles) over the equator. Once deployed, the satellite made contact with ground controllers as planned. However, soon after the initial contact, Russian news agencies reported that the manufacturer had lost contact with the satellite.
Following a tense few days, Russian news agency TASS reported that contact with the satellite had been restored. Later, RSC Energia confirmed in a press release that communications had been re-established.
“Experts from the Energia Corporation have received telemetry data from the AngoSat satellite launched by the Zenit-3SLBF space rocket from the Baikonur spaceport on December 26. The satellite has provided telemetry data showing that all its systems settings are in order,” read the press release.
Later that day, TASS quoted industry sources in stating that communications with the satellite had been lost because the onboard batteries had been drained suddenly. However, with the satellite’s solar panels extended, power was soon restored and Angosat 1 re-established contact. It is still unclear what caused the batteries to be unexpectedly drained.
RSC Energia is now reporting that Angosat 1 is “operating normally”.
Image Credit: RSC Energia
