2025 began strongly for Angola’s space programme with a EUR 225.6 million financial agreement between Angola and France to fund ANGEO-1, the country’s first high resolution Earth observation (EO) satellite.
This satellite project aligns seamlessly with Angola’s vision to become a key player in space technology, marking yet another milestone in its journey to strengthen its space capabilities and secure a foothold in the global space arena.
The funding agreement includes two loans: EUR 35.27 million and EUR 189.99 million.
These funds cover all aspects of the satellite project, including construction, launch, and orbital operations.
The journey to this milestone began six years ago, starting with mission conceptualisation and eventually contracting Airbus Defence and Space in March 2023 to develop the satellite.
This is not Airbus’s first project with Angola. The French manufacturer provided the communication payload for the country’s communication satellite, Angosat-2, launched in 2022.
Angosat-2 was Angola’s replacement comsat for Angosat-1, which failed in orbit four months after launch.
The satellite was built by the Russian manufacturer ISS RESHETNEV, which developed the service platform (i.e., the satellite bus, which is essentially the satellite’s structural and functional base, housing subsystems like power, propulsion, and thermal control), and Airbus Defense and Space, which developed the payload (communication equipment.
The ANGEO-1 will be an optical satellite built on Airbus’ S250 series, a platform developed from over 30 years of experience in space systems.
Designed for Earth observation, the S250 series is lightweight, agile, and capable of high-resolution imaging, often reaching sub-meter resolution.
This makes it ideal for missions requiring detailed and precise data.
The ANGEO-1 will operate for eight years and can capture over 110 images daily, with a 5 x 7 km² footprint and 0.5m spatial resolution.
Its agility allows it to adjust at 30° in just 15 seconds, enabling rapid targeting of specific areas. Furthermore, the satellite’s resolution is estimated at 0.5 metres in panchromatic mode and 2 metres in multispectral mode, supporting multiple spectral bands including Blue, Green, Red, and Near-Infrared (NIR).
Airbus has not released full technical details of the S250 series, as much of the data is proprietary.
However, the platform has been used in notable projects like the OneWeb satellites and the French CO3D constellation, demonstrating its reliability and versatility.
The ANGEO-1, like other S250 satellites, is modular and typically operates in Sun-Synchronous Orbits, making it suitable for a wide range of Earth observation applications.
Thus, combining high performance with a compact design, the ANGEO-1 meets the growing demand for small, agile satellites capable of delivering detailed and actionable Earth observation data.
Joining Africa’s Elite in Advanced EO Satellites
Once operational, ANGEO-1 will become one of Africa’s most advanced EO satellites, positioning Angola as a leading space power on the continent.
The project also includes the development of an advanced national space data centre, enabling Angola to provide space imagery and geo-intelligence services to government departments, state agencies, and private-sector clients.
This also crosscuts Angola’s ambitions to leverage space technology for national development and regional influence.
Only a few African nations operate satellites with comparable technical capabilities to ANGEO-1.
Egypt and Morocco are among the leaders in this field. Morocco’s MOHAMMED VI-A and MOHAMMED VI-B satellites, developed jointly by Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space, are prime examples.
Additionally, Morocco recently signed a USD 1 billion agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to utilise the Ofek 13 (Ofeq-13) satellite.
This satellite features Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology, enabling high-resolution imaging with up to 0.5-metre resolution.
SAR allows imaging in any weather condition, day or night, making it a reliable tool for continuous surveillance.
Source: https://spaceinafrica.com/2025/01/28/would-angeo-1-development-be-a-rewarding-endeavour-for-angola/
