Bangladesh Satellite-1

The Bangladesh Satellite-1 is Bangladesh’s first satellite for communication and broadcasting. It was named after the nation's first president, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The satellite was made by Thales Alenia Space and launched on May 12, 2018, from Kennedy Space Center in the USA.^[1] This launch made Bangladesh the 57th country having a satellite of its own in space.^[3] It is the first satellite to be launched by SpaceX's Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket.^[4]

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government, Bangabandhu Satellite-1 was renamed to Bangladesh Satellite-1.^[5][6]

Bangabandhu Satellite-1 was made by Thales Alenia Space. It cost 248 million US dollars in 2015, with most of the money coming from a loan by HSBC.^[7] The satellite has 40 Ku-band and C-band transponders and can work for more than 15 years.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Bangabandhu Satellite-1 was launched on May 12, 2018, at 20:14 UTC using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in the USA.^[2] It was the very first satellite launched with the new SpaceX Block 5 rocket model.^[12][13] The launch was initially planned for May 10, 2018, but the rocket’s automatic system stopped the launch at T-58 seconds. The launch was then delayed by 24 hours and successfully took place on May 11, 2018.^[14]

The satellite has ground control stations made by Thales Alenia Space and its partner Spectra. The main ground station is in Gazipur. The secondary ground station is in Betbunia, Rangamati.^[15] On 12 May 2018, the first test signal was received.^[16]