Rabat – Barely a month after Morocco launched its first satellite, Algeria is following suit with its first telecommunications satellite propelled into orbit from China this Sunday.
China’s Long March 3B rocket launched the Alcomsat-1 on Sunday. The satellite will reach its destination orbit in six days, announced the Algerian Space Agency (ASAL) in a press release on Sunday.
The satellite reached the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) though China’s Chang-Zheng 3B launcher (CZ-3B, Long March 3B), which took off Sunday at 6:40 p.m GMT from Xichang’s launching center in Sichuan Province, 2,200 kilometers southwest of Beijing.
Alcomsat-1 separated from the launcher 26 minutes after take-off. It is currently evolving in an orbit with 4.1191 apogee and 200 km of perigee inclined at 26.4 degrees.
“Five maneuvers of Alcomsat-1 will be needed in the next six days to reach its geostationary orbit of 36,000 km altitude and its orbital position at 24.8 degrees West,” explained ASAL.
The Algerian satellite will provide audio transmission, high-speed internet, and telemedicine and video conferencing services, and will improve the reception of several television programs.
Engineers at the Algerian space agency will control the satellite via the telecommunication systems operating centers located in Boughezoul and Bouchaoui.
