On December 26, Russia launched a rocket with Angosat-1, Angola’s first national telecommunications satellite. The launch was made from the Baikonur cosmodrome. Despite the martial law between the countries, they used a Ukrainian rocket to launch.
Video from Roscosmos demonstrated how the spacecraft took off at night from the frosty territory of the launch pad in Kazakhstan. Soon he got to the point in orbit.
The Zenit-2SB missile transporting Angosat was delivered by the Ukrainian company Yuzhmash, which led to the first joint launch between Ukraine and Russia since 2014.
The Angosat project was developed by Russia and Angola in 2009. It includes satellite, launch and ground infrastructure located in a suburb of Luanda. The creation took away $ 280 million allocated by Russian state-owned banks. The mission will last 15 years and will improve satellite communications, Internet access, television and radio. Approximately 50 Angolan aerospace engineers will monitor the satellite functionality from the control center in Luanda.
Initially, the launch of the satellite was planned for the summer, but the launch had to be postponed due to delays. Russia was going to use its Angara rocket, but later chose the Ukrainian one from Yuzhmash.
Angola is one of the leading producers of African oil, but many residents are mired in poverty.
