Nigeria's Satellite to go commercial in January

NigComsat 1-R before launch in China

Nigeria’s Satellite to go commercial in January.

iThe Managing Director, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, NigComSat, Mr. Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufa has said that the newly-launched replacement communication satellite, NigComSat-1R, would be delivered to Nigeria by the end of January 2012.

Ahmed-Rufai who was giving an update on the status of the satellite in Abuja said Nigeria would fully take over the satellite upon the completion of series of tests to ascertain the specification and the state of the satellite.

`This control will take place from here in Abuja after January, after the satellite has been fully handed over to us and that is when we will be ready to commence full commercial services’’ , he said

He said that the satellite which was launched on Dec. 19 successfully got to its final orbital position at about 11 a.m. on Dec. 27 while the in-orbit testing began on Dec. 28.

He said that ``The position of NigComsat-1R in the orbit is the same position of NigComSat-1 which is 42.5 degree east; this position is the Nigerian orbital position.

``Having acquired our position now, by 28th of December 2011 we commenced what we call in-orbit-testing and this takes a period of about a month to a month-and-half. To date, the result we are having is very good. It agrees exactly with what we expected and in some cases even better,” he added.

Rufai said that``We are going to continue with this test until the end January and when the test is completed the manufacturers and the insurance industry will formally deliver the satellite to NigComSat Ltd.’’

Ahmed-Rufai explained that it was only when the satellite had been delivered to NigComSat Ltd. that the in-orbit replacement of the de-orbited satellite could be said to be completed.

He said that it was based on the outcome of the test that the satellite would be delivered with known specifications performance parameters and characteristics.

He added that all the testing was going on in Nigeria as Nigerians would be the ones to fully operate and control the satellite.

He said also that there would be a period of one year within which a number of the technical partners would be on ground to further tutor and supervise the Nigerian engineers.

``Now that are our engineers are going to be in the fore-front we would still have them at the back end, physically present to okay all the steps that we are going to take", he added.

NAN/Ugo