Space Communication Center of Belarus
Belarus joined the prestigious club of nations engaged in outer space exploration in 2012 when BKA 1, the first Belarusian satellite for the remote sensing of the Earth was inserted into orbit. Within four years the satellite has revolved around the planet more than 20,000 times. Thanks to the acquired data and the technologies it has helped the country save and earn millions of U.S. dollars…
The year 2016 is expected to be as remarkable. A number of important events have already happened:
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On 15 January the first Belarusian telecommunication satellite Belintersat 1 was launched using the Xichang satellite launch center in China to get Belarus integrated into the global information space;
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The Space Research Agency of Belarus was created in April to coordinate all the directions of the country’s space industry development;
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On 12 April on International Day of Human Space Flight the ground control center of the national satellite communication and broadcasting center was symbolically opened with assistance of the Belarus president. In essence it was a presentation of the space communication center, which is being built in the town of Stankovo not far from Minsk.
The large-scale project to create the National Satellite Communication and Broadcasting System is being implemented by the Belarusian precision electromechanics factory in association with partners from the Chinese corporation Great Wall. It is in the town of Stankovo that the flight is coordinated and data is exchanged with the Belintersat 1 satellite, which is already in its designated orbital position and will be ready for operation after tests are over.
The abundance of services the satellite will provide to customers include broadband Internet access, steady voice communication, special communications for the army and emergency services, television broadcasting, geographic data collection, distance learning, telemedicine… At present the project primarily targets foreign customers. Specialists believe that Belarus will need about 10% of the satellite’s capacity while the rest can be sold abroad. By the way, Chinese companies are already ready to use one fifth of the resources. Negotiations are underway with potential customers in Russia, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, India, and France…
A closer look at the space communication center in Stankovo can be found in our report...
