US corporation SpaceX said that its Falcon 9 rocket had successfully launched Bulgaria’s first geostationary communications satellite – BulgariaSat-1 – into orbit on June 23. Another batch of Iridium satellites are expected to be launched today (June 25) from a new Falcon 9 rocket, according to Nasaspaceflight.com from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Bulsatcom said that BulgariaSat-1 is expected to begin its journey to its final position in geostationary orbit today (25 June) and it should begin transmitting after one month. It will cover the Balkans, other parts of Europe, as well as North Africa. BulgariaSat-1’s life expectancy is up to 20 years. Bulsatcom will use half of its capacity, and will lease the other half, Dnevnik daily reported.
Bulgaria is hence set to be the 12th country in Europe to operate a communications satellite. Both Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Boyko Borissov have issued congratulatory addresses on the occasion of the successful launch, Bulsatcom said. Company CEO Maxim Zayakov commented that they first started this space project more than 10 years ago.
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