Nigeria, Chinese firms meet over missing satellite

WORRIED about the negative implications of the "lost" Nigerian Satellite (NigComSat-1) in space about two weeks ago, officials of China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) and Export-Import Bank (EXIM) of China arrived in Nigeria at the weekend to hold talks with President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat Ltd) and other officials with a view to finding a solution to the failed satellite.

NigComSat-1 was powered down on November 10, as a result of crisis with the solar panel whose battery powers began to deplete from 42 amps to 33 and finally hitting 18 amps, necessitating a shut down.

NigComSat Managing Director, Mr. Ahmed Rufai, foreclosed the possibility of recovering NigComSat-1, saying, "the chances are slim," last week.

NigComSat-1 was the 18th of the 19 satellites that have so far failed this year alone.

The visit of the Chinese delegation is a follow-up to an earlier letter to President Yar'Adua dated November 12, 2008, two days after NigComSat-1 was parked in the orbit.

It was signed by China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) President, Mr. Wang Haibo, who is now the head of delegation to Nigeria.

He said in his November 12 letter to President Yar'Adua titled: "Join hands with confidence in time of difficulties" that "Mr. President may have already been informed about the failure of NigComSat-1 in space."

Wang whose company is the contractor on behalf of China Space Academy said that he regretted the crash, especially the difficulties and troubles caused by the failure, adding that although in the field of space, similar technical failures were not uncommon, especially in telecommunications satellite with large capacity.

"As Nigeria-China relationship is always highly emphasised by the Chinese government, this space programme has been viewed as a sample of the sincere co-operation. We reported the situation to all related government organisations immediately, including Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and Export and Import Bank of China (Eximbank) and they are getting very positive and supportive. So, I can stand in firm confidence today to re-assure Your Excellency that China Great Wall Industry Corp, (CGWIC) and China Aerospace would not leave our customer in time of difficulty."

He explained that "internally, we are making all efforts and putting together all resources targeting at a new solution, I will lead a Chinese delegation to visit your country very soon to discuss and review the solution in details. There are lessons to learn and opportunity in every challenge. We would like to assure that with your kind consideration for NigComSat-2/3, Nigeria will rise above these challenges with three satellites in orbit within the shortest possible time, sufficient to back-up one another, while making Nigeria the ICT hub of Africa.

"We held fruitful meeting with Eximbank, which is the major source of funds for NigComSat-1. Eximbank is strongly supportive to work with CGWIC and our Nigerian customers to overcome the difficulties," he said.

"On behalf of CGWIC, we are looking forward to working with Nigeria to achieve Your Excellency's aim of benefiting your people and your country with the advantages of space technology."

The meeting between the Federal Government and the Chinese delegation continues tomorrow. It was put on hold till tomorrow to enable Science and Technology Minister, Mrs. Grace Ekpiwhre participate. The minister and the leader of the Chinese delegation are expected to present a position paper tomorrow after the meeting.

In a similar vein, experts have begun to drum support for the resuscitation of NigComSat-1 and building of NigComSat-2 and 3.

"Government must not waste time in launching these satellites. As a country, we have made powerful statements with the launch of NigComSat-1 as the first black country to have a footprint in space, despite the negative criticisms from a lot of western interests and their cohorts here in Africa. But the fact that NigComSat-1 changed the entire market thinking about bandwidth pricing before its technical problems proved that this is a road we must take," said Patrick Edeh, Senior Engineering Manager at Philips Place, Lagos.

"We must see this as a challenge. The satellite industry is a high-risk sector but it offers immense benefits for any nation that veers into it. The manpower skill acquisition and infrastructure and possibility of socio-economic improvements are tremendous. Every serious country wants to have a stake in the satellite industry. We must commend the Nigerian government for getting us into it, said Shola Taylor, telecoms analyst with extensive knowledge of the global satellite industry. Taylor is a consultant on the pan- Africa satellite initiative RASCOM QAF-1 and Nigeria's satellite project NigComSat-1.

"There is a lot of misconception out there about the satellite industry that has tended to portray our entry as a disastrous one. More than 30 satellites have developed different levels of serious errors in the last 24 months built by the best hands in Europe and the United States (U.S.) But you don't make fuss over this. You simply track down the problems, make amends and move on with newer investment that is ultimately justifiable. The lesson is that we must remain up there in orbits with not one satellite but several if we must sustain the radical changes we have initiated in the African satellite space", said Pius Ikedife, a Lagos-based technology analyst and a promoter of rural telephony in eastern Nigeria.

"This incident is unfortunate. But we hope that it would be successfully addressed with more of Nigerian communication satellites in space very soon. With NigComSat-1, we at Emperion were able to leverage on the lower cost of high quality service to have competitive advantage over others," said Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Emperion West Africa, Sandeep Jayaswal. He said NigComSat-1 offered a rare window of bringing premium services to the market that foreign satellite companies could not have offered.

The satellite industry is full of mishaps. In September 2006, Intelsat 802, the spacecraft of leading satellite operator, Intelsat, developed "sudden and unexpected anomaly." It was built by world renowned Lockheed Martin (formerly GE Astro Space). In the same year, Thaicom 3, built by Europe-based Alcatel Alenia Space, was "put in graveyard orbit after power problems lead to its total loss." Alcatel Alenia Space also built the ill-fated RASCOM QAF-1 communication satellite.

Hotbird 3, owned and operated by Eutelsat, had its solar array damaged in October 2006. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency lost its MTSAT-1R in April 2006. The satellite failed to operate and lost attitude on April 16. However, it was regained 16 hours later and about a year after, it was originally launched. PanAmSat lost its PAS-6 communication satellite in 2004 due to significant loss of power. It was built by the highly reputable SpaceSystems/Loral (SS/L). PAS-6, which was used as a back-up for PAS-6B, was put in graveyard orbit in April 2004. The losses were unanticipated by the American satellite giant. Some of the more recent mishaps in the satellite industry include the total loss of RASCOM QAF-1 due to a leak in helium sub-system during its launch in December 2007; the loss in control of Astra 5A in October 2008 (control was regained two weeks later); the partial failure of the power system of Galaxy 26 leading to the loss of half of the satellite's capacity; the loss of one of the solar arrays of Eutelsat W5 due to motor malfunction in June 2008. The Eutelsat is Europe's leading satellite backbone provider.

NigComSat-1 was launched by the Chinese opening a new chapter of partnership between China and Nigeria in space research and technology. The satellite life-span was originally 15 years. Since the launch of NigComSat-1, China has launched other communication satellites for Peru, Venezuela and Bolivia to consolidate on its first export of commercial satellite with the launch of NigComSat-1.


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