The Bangabandhu 1 (BD-1) satellite, the first geostationary communications satellite of Bangladesh, was developed by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). The satellite was launched into geostationary earth orbit (GEO) in May 2018.
The satellite is located at 119.1°E longitude orbital position and provides broadcasting and telecommunication services to rural areas in Bangladesh. It also supports profitable services, including direct-to-home (DTH) services.
It offers Ku-band and C-band services across Bangladesh and its territorial waters of the Bay of Bengal, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
The satellite enables the nation to save approximately BDT1.08bn ($14m) currently being spent on satellite rents each year. BTRC also plans to launch follow-on series of BD-2 and BD-3 satellites in phases.
Bangabandhu-1 satellite design and development
Thales Alenia Space was selected as prime contractor to provide turnkey systems, including design, production, testing services for the BD-1 satellites, in November 2015. The scope of the contract also includes the development of ground segment.
BD-1 satellite’s communications module integration work was carried out at Thales Alenia Space plant located at Toulouse in France. The critical design review (CDR) of BD-1 satellite was completed in January 2017. The service module for the satellite was manufactured at Cannes and satellite mating was completed in March 2017.
Thales Alenia Space Belgium, Thales Alenia Space Italia and Thales Alenia Space España were also involved in the development of the satellite and the ground components.
Based on Spacebus 4000B2 platform developed by Thales Alenia Space, the BD-1 satellite has a launch mass of 3,500kg. It includes two deployable solar arrays with batteries. The spacecraft has a designed lifespan of 15 years.
Communication capabilities of BD-1 satellite
The BD-1 satellite is fitted with 26 Ku-Band and 14 C-Band transponders. The major applications of the spacecraft include DTH, very small aperture terminal (VSAT) communications, backhaul and trunking, network restoration, and disaster preparedness and relief.
The primary service area (PSA) of the satellite is Bangladesh and neighbouring countries, while its secondary service areas (SSA) include South East Asia, Europe, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), as well as East Africa.
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