Bangabandhu Satellite-1: First Satellite of Bangladesh (বঙ্গবন্ধু স্যাটেলাইট-১ )

Bangabandhu Satellite-1 (BS-1) is the first Bangladeshi geostationary communications satellite (57th country in space). The satellite was ordered in November 2015 from Thales Alenia Space, who will build, launch and operate the satellite for the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). It will be stationed at an orbital slot at longitude 119.1° east with 40 transponders (Ku and C-band, 1 transponder=36 MHz) with a capacity of 1600 megahertz.

The BS- 1 communications satellite pictured at the Thales Alenia Space factory in Cannes, France.
Credit: Thales Alenia Space

Fig: Bangabandhu-1 [Thales Alenia]
Credit: Thales Alenia Space

BS-1 is a satellite telecommunications system, comprising a satellite and the complete ground segment (control, mission and user segments). Thales Alenia Space is also in charge of building two facilities in Bangladesh for all ground support equipment needed to control the satellite and operate the telecom system. There will be two ground stations for satellite operation and control, one as the primary site (Joydebpur, Gazipur) and other as the backup site (Betbunia, Rangamati). Thales Alenia Space Belgium, Thales Alenia Space Italy and Thales Alenia Space Spain are all involved in this project, as suppliers of various ground and satellite components. The total cost of this satellite project is about 328 Million (Tk-2,765.66 crore).

Ground Station at Joydebpur, Gazipur

Details about this satellite

Satellite Name	Bangabandhu Satellite-1 (BS-1)
Nation	Bangladesh
Type / Application	Communication
Position	119° E (119.1° E)
Operator	Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC)
Manufacturer	Thales Alenia Space, France
Equipment	16 standard C-band, 24 Ku-band transponders
Model (bus)	Spacebus-4000B2
Propulsion	S400
Power	2 deployable solar arrays, batteries
Lifetime	15+ years
Mass (kg)	3700
Orbit	GEO
Launch Date	11 May, 2018
Launch Site	Cape Canaveral, USA
Launch Vehicle	Falcon 9 v1.2*, SpaceX
Commercial Activity	July, 2018 (Estimated)

*This will be the first launch of the upgraded Block 5 version of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

The priority satellite applications are Direct to Home (DTH), VSAT, Backhaul and Trunking, Network Restoration, Disaster Preparedness and relief etc. The Primary Service Area (PSA) would be Bangladesh and neighboring countries and the Secondary Service Area (SSA) would be South East Asia, Europe, MENA, and East Africa depending on the orbital slot.

Fig: System Concept of Bangabandhu-1 

Once the satellite is launched, Bangladesh is expected to save $14 million annually and earn around $1 billion by leasing and renting the satellite. There will be a huge improvement in various sectors including information communication, e-learning, healthcare as well as early warning system and emergency relief efforts during natural disasters. Over 150 channels with high-definition quality will be available in the country as well. BTRC also plans to launch follow-on series of BS-2 and BS-3 satellites in phases.

History of Bangabandhu Satellite-1

29 March 2012

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) signs an accord with US-based, Space Partnership International (SPI) to provide consultancy services for the launching of the country's first communications satellite BS-1.

15 January 2015

Bangladesh has leased an orbital slot in the space from a Russian vendor (Intersputnik) at $28 million (Tk 218.96 crore) for the next 15 years. Bangladesh will own the orbit and will be able to send at least three satellites in the space. The duration of the deal for the slot in the 119.1 east longitude is extendable up to 45 years.

11 November 2015

BTRC and Thales Alenia Space signed on contract paper to build, launch and operate the satellite for Bangladesh with a cost of at $248 million (Tk 1,959 crore)

Credit: BTRC

30 March 2018

BS-1 arrived at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Credit: Thales Alenia Space

4 May 2018

SpaceX conducted a static fire test of the first Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket at historic Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Credit: SpaceX

Credit: Robin Seemangal : Falcon 9 Block 5 static fire test 

7 May 2018

SpaceX finally announces the date (10 May 2018) for the launch after analyzing data from a routine prelaunch static-fire test.

Credit: SpaceX

10 May 2018

12:00 p.m. EDT or 18:00 UTC

At Pad 39A the new Block V Falcon 9 awaits liftoff

Credit: John Kraus

Credit: SpaceXUpdates

5:47 p.m. EDT, or 21:47 UTC

SpaceX calls off the launch at the last minute. An automatic abort was triggered 58 seconds before liftoff, pushing the launch back by at least 24 hours. SpaceX will try again on Friday (11 May 2018) between 4:14 p.m. ET (20:14 UTC) and 6:21 p.m. ET (22.21 UTC).

Credit: SpaceX

Credit: SpaceX

10 May 2018 BS- 1's launch attempt
Credit: SpaceX Youtube Channel

11 May 2018

SpaceX is now targeting launch of Bangabandhu Satellite-1 on Friday, May 11 from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida at 4:14 p.m. EDT, or 20:14 UTC, and closes at 6:21 p.m. EDT, or 22:21 UTC.

4:00 p.m. EDT, or 20:00 UTC

4:14 p.m. EDT, or 20:14 UTC

Separation of the first stage

Cap separation

The first stage has landed on the drone-ship “Of Course I Still Love You”

BS-1 has deployed into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)

11 May 2018 BS- 1's launch

Credit: SpaceX Youtube Channel

Source: Skyrocket, BTRC, Satbeams, Wikipedia, Prothom-alo, Satellitetoday, The Daily Star, Spaceflight Now, Talk Satellite