Angolan President signs decree for the development of ANGOSAT-3 by Airbus

Angosat-1

Angola’s President, João Lourenço, has signed a presidential decree for the signature of a contract between Angola and Airbus for the construction of an Earth Observation satellite named AngoSat-3. This will be Angola’s third attempt to put a satellite in orbit.  AngoSat-1 had a launch failure in December 2018, and its replacement, AngoSat-2, is currently being developed in Russia.

See our 16 February 2019 article here for a discussion of how Angola’s Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology, José Carvalho da Rocha, had explained that Angola will have more satellites in orbit in several areas of knowledge.

In an exclusive conversation with V​angiliya Pereira; Deputy General Director for the Technical and Scientific area of Gabinete de Gestão do Programa Espacial Nacional (GGPEN), we learned that the decree appears in the Republic Diary of Angola, Series I, number 62/19, dated of May 8th, 2019. The presidential decree authorizes the National Space Management Office to sign the contract, as well as the documentation related to the project on behalf of Angola.

The preamble of the presidential decree explains that the AngoSat-3 is a consequence of the Strategic Plan of the Management office of the National Space Program (GGPEN) 2019-2022 which establishes the objectives and general guidelines of Angola’s space activities. The Strategy recognizes the vital importance that the use of space for peaceful purpose has for the social and economic development and the strategic positioning of Angola.

More specifically, it emphasizes the vital use of space as it contributes to the efficient management of mineral resources, maritime and air navigation, better territorial planning, and the control and defense of national boundary areas.

 

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