Deal for country’s second satellite in three months

The government will finalise a deal for the country's second satellite in three months and it will be launched in the next 2-3 years, said Shahjahan Mahmood, chairman of Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited.

The second satellite, Bangabandhu-2, will be an earth observatory satellite, he said.

It will be used for various purposes, including monitoring of natural disasters, managing agricultural resources, assessing environmental changes, Mahmood said.

He made the comments at the sixth anniversary of the launch of Bangabandhu-1, the country's first communication satellite, at a programme at the Dhaka Club today.

The Bangabandhu-1 satellite was launched in May of 2018 under a Tk 2,765.66 crore project.

Mahmood said the lifetime of Bangabandhu-1 could be increased by three years to 18 years, as it was efficiently launched six years back.

Some 40 Bangladeshi and 26 foreign television stations now air programmes using Bangabandhu-1 and the satellite has also started providing television rating point services recently.

In September last year, a letter of intent on cooperation was signed related to Bangabandhu-2 Earth Observation Satellite System between Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited and Airbus Defence and Space SAS of France.

The documents were inked in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and France President Emmanuel Macron at the Prime Minister's Office in Dhaka.

This time, Bangladesh has already signed a memorandum of understanding with France for the second satellite and its launch will help the south Asian country to face the challenges of the fourth industrial revelation, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said in today's event.

State Minister for Telecom and ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Post and Telecom Secretary Abu Hena Morshed Zaman also spoke.