A Ukrainian-built Zenit rocket launched the South African country Angola's first communications satellite into orbit Tuesday (Dec. 26).

The satellite, called Angosat-1, lifted off at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (where the local time was 1 a.m. Wednesday morning) on the Zenit booster, according to the Russian space agency Roscosmos, which stated that a Zenit 2SB rocket was used. The satellite was built for Angola by the Russian aerospace company RSC Energia.

According to Spaceflight Now, Angosat-1 is a 3,631-lb. (1,647 kilograms) satellite designed to provide communications services for customers in Angola and across Africa for 15 years. Spaceflight Now reported that a Zenit 3F booster built by Yuzhmash in Dnipro, Ukraine,was used for the launch. A Russian-built Fregat upper stage is expected to deliver the satellite into a geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator.

You can watch a video of the Zenit booster carrying Angosat-1 roll out to its launch pad on Sunday (Dec. 24) below, courtesy of RSC Energia

Source:
courtesy of SPACE

by Tariq Malik

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