nigeria's n40bn satellite missing from orbit (Page 2)

Nigeria's N40bn Satellite Missing from Orbit
By Efem Nkanga, 11.12.2008

The Nigerian Commun-ications Satellite (NigComSat), which was launched into orbit over 18 months ago, is said to be missing.
THISDAY gathered last night that with the satellite missing from orbit, the huge amount spent by the Nigerian government, about N40 billion may have gone down the drain.
The satellite was found to have run into a technical hitch for some weeks now, according to a source, when it was discovered that it was using a technological standard that was not meant for Africa but Asia.
The materials used in the building of the satellite by the Chinese that built it were said to have also been in question.
The solar panel was said to be faulty and not working. All this was being battled with while, the Managing Director of NigComSat, Ahmed Rufai, was said to be angling for the launch of the second satellite.
The contract for the NigComSat project which was signed on December 15, 2004 in Abuja between China Great Wall Industry Corporation and the National Space Research and Development Agency was said to have cost the Federal Government over N40 billion. China was awarded the deal after it outbid 21 international.
The cost of the satellite include items such as construction, insurance, value added tax as well as the price for building one ground control station in Abuja and a backup control station in Kashi, China.
The satellite has four gateways said to be located in South Africa, China, Italy and Northern Nigeria.
The satellite,  which has a lifespan of 15 years, is being  monitored and tracked by a ground station built in Abuja while the Chinese firm, Great Wall Industry Corporation, has a ground station in Kashgar, in northwest China 's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
It will be recalled that NigComSat which is  100 per cent owned by the Federal Government, was recently given a 15 per cent stake from the Federal Government's 49 per cent stake in NITEL.
 Nigeria in May 2007 launched NigComSat into orbit with expectations of tremendous gains to the nation's telecoms sector.
The NigComSat is a super hybrid geo-stationary satellite designed to operate in Africa, parts of the Middle East and southern Europe and was expected to digitalise the Nigerian economy and promote technological advancement in Nigeria and Africa.
The expectation from many quarters was that NigComSat's  carrier rocket, Long March 3-B, which blasted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province and entered the orbit accurately on May 14, would set the stage for Nigeria to consolidate on its growing profile as the technological hub of Africa and an emerging player in the global terrain.
The satellite project was supposed to enable Internet access to even the remotest rural villages, a major quest of stakeholders in recent times. It was also expected to enhance government's economic reforms, particularly in the areas of e-learning, e-commerce, tele-medicine, tele-education, and rural telephony.
The project, according to experts, was expected to help African users save more than $900 million spent for telephony trunking and data transport services, $660 million in phone call charges and broadband access which is more than $95 million spent each year, as well as create more than 150, 000 jobs for Nigerians.
Rufai had before the launch disclosed that Nigeria would earn about $1.05billion which is N128billion yearly from NigComSat. A major part of the earnings was expected to come in from the sale and leasing of transponders from NigComSat.
Rufai had stated that  each transponder, forty in all will be sold for between $60-70 million. NigComSat currently has forty transponders, with 28 active and 12 inactive.
However despite the huge expectations of Nigerians, NigComSat has not performed to expectations. Rufai at a recent media interaction agreed that  NigComSat had  not been able to capture the market principally because of the challenges it faced from the regulatory authority.
Government sources confirmed to THISDAY the failure of the satellite in orbit. While admitting that the level the failure has gone is  mindboggling, the source disclosed that the Federal Executive Council will meet today on the matter and issue a statement on how the failure will be addressed.

 
INDEPENDENT
 
Nigeria's N32b Communication Satellite Missing In Orbit
By Aaron Ukodie Deputy Business Editor

Nigeria's $311 million (about N32 billion) worth communication satellite, which was launched two years ago is now missing in orbit.

The Nigeria Communications Satellite Organisation (NigComSat), which is managing the communications infrastructure cannot presently account for it. Ministry of Science and Technology (MST), its supervising ministry officials said they were yet to receive official briefing on the missing satellite from NigComSat.

A top official of the MST told Daily Independent Tuesday that the ministry has received unofficial information on the missing satellite, but that official report has not reached the ministry from NigComSat.

Officials at the government owned Galaxy Backbone, one of the major customers of NigComSat said the situation has seriously affected its operation as many government services which are hooked on to it are currently experiencing difficulties from the back-up infrastructure that Galaxy Backbone has resorted to.

The Managing Director of NigComSat, Ahmed Rufai could not be reached to comment on the development.

A called placed to his phone number was not picked up. He even refused to respond to an text sent to that number requesting for his comments on the reported missing satellite.

In the view of Gbenga Adebayo, President of Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) who also spoke as an engineer, the reported missing of the Nigerian satellite is unusual. If it is missing, the NigComSat officials should be able to account for it.

He said, for instance what was the last location and communication NigComSat ground equipment received before they lost track of it.

The Nigerian Communication Satellite NIGCOMSAT-1 was launched on May 17, 2007 by a Chinese communication agency to provide broadcasting, phone and broadband internet services for Africa.

China won the bid after beating 21 other bidders in 2004 for the $311m contract to launch the satellite,

The satellite, lofted by a Long March 3-B rocket, is expected to reach its final position in late 2007 and to remain in operation for 15 years. It was lunched at Xichang satellite launch centre, Sichuan province, China. Its deployment for commercial purposes started on July, 6th 2007 with a life span of 15 years, two other satellites are billed to be launched in 2010.It is therefore pertinent to look at its benefits considering the huge investment being made to actualize this project.

The launch has been portrayed as part of a drive to enhance rural access to technology and the internet and boost Nigeria's and Africa's knowledge economy.

NiComSat official have often positioned NigComSat as the needed vehicle that will transform Nigeria's communication services and reduce cost of providing services. They said it will provide a great opportunity in ICT sector for job creation, job opportunities for engineers, technicians, ICT service providers and others.



WHO KNOWS IF THIS SATELITE REACHED THE ORBIT!!!

Nigeria’s Satellite Faulty, Not Missing, Says FG
From Juliana Taiwo and Dayo Thomas in Abuja, 11.13.2008

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The Federal Government has said Nigerian Communi-cations Satellite (NigCom-Sat)  is not missing but packed up “due to loss of energy”.
Briefing State House Correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, in Abuja yesterday, the Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr. Alhassan Zaku, said the satellite actually developed a technical fault that resulted in the inability of the operational batteries to be charged by the solar panels.
THISDAY had reported yesterday that the N40 billion satellite had developed technical problems and gone missing from the orbit.
Zaku said the fault was detected by the Nigerian and Chinese engineers stationed in Abuja and China at about 4.00 am on Tuesday.
He said immediately the manufacturer was contacted, repairs could not be effected on time, hence the decision to pack it in order not to cause damage to other satellites.
The minister said if repairs could not be effected on the satellite, a new one would be built and launched, adding that the cost would be born by NigComSat’s insurance company.
Zaku assured customers of NigComSat that their loads would be migrated to another transponder at no extra cost.
According to him, “At about 4am yesterday (Tuesday), our engineers who are manning the ground station here in Abuja, noticed that the satellite in the orbit was not being recharged.
“Usually, this is suppose to happen via solar energy. Usually, when it is not being recharged, it losses energy very fast. So when they noticed, they quickly reported to the managing director. About the same time, the station in China, of course the satellite was built and launched in China, noticed and also called to communicate what they have noticed but assured that they were working to see what they could do. Immediately they summoned their engineers including the president of the company that built the satellite and they tried to see what they could do about the power being lost.
“When they found that it was becoming a bit difficult for them to manage, they contacted us to ask what they should do since it is our own. At around 9am, I met with the MD and we looked at the options and decided that the best thing to do was to pack it like you park a car.
“Because if it is not packed there will be no energy left to move it but because there was still some energy left, we decided to move it aside and pack it in a safe place. Because if it is not done, it will lose all the energy and become like a lose canon which will keep rolling about and hitting other satellites in orbit. And of course almost all satellites are carrying loads that are paid for and once you make that damage you are liable. So we decided that they should pack it while repairs continue.
“However, we have also told them that in the event that it cannot be repaired, our insurance companies have to replace it. It is insured, so it will be replaced either they give us another one which is already in orbit or they built another one.
“Meanwhile, all the customers whose pay load we are carrying have been assured that we will migrate whatever we are carrying for them – TV, radio into another transponder so they need not fear at all. Of course they are not going to pay anything. The cost will be born by our own satellite because they paid for it and in fact the last amount they paid for it has not even be taken to the treasury, of course they pay in instalments quarterly. So the last money they paid has not even been banked yet. We are still trying to collect all, so we will just take that money and pay for another transponder for them to use now until ours is repaired or replaced.”
Also reacting to the missing satellite, the management of the NigComSat1 said it noticed a service disruption on November 10, 2008.
In a statement by the organisation’s Marketing Manager Bimbola Alale, it said: “Contrary to the statement in the media, NigComSat 1 is not missing but rather power down at about 10 am Monday morning when observed abnormal battery discharge in anon-eclipse situation.”
Alale said the Satellite had been put in an emergency mode operation in order to effect mitigation and repair.

But have u all 4gotten that when this satellite was launhced it was beamed live on national tv? the hand over of obj to yar adua was broad casted live with the use of this satellite just some days after its launch? some banks , isps and visafone payloads are on this satellite so why d hell will u people think the satellite was never in space in d 1st instance?