During a speech at an international workshop held in Algiers, Algeria, the director-general of Algeria’s space agency ASAL, Azzedine Oussedik, told SciDev.net his country is on schedule to launch their second satellite system, Alsat-2. The hope is for a late 2008 launch for this satellite that will collect high-quality images for agricultural resource mapping, forestry, locating minerals and oil resources, monitoring locust swarms and managing natural disasters. A base must be established in Arzew, located in western Algeria. At this location, all of the images will be analyzed and the satellites controlled. Mr. Oussedik told SciDev.Net, “The project is progressing normally.”
The Alsat-2 system will be comprised of two satellites, the Alsat-2A and Alsat-2B. Last year, 30 Algerian researchers were trained in Toulouse, France, and they will be assisted by a French team to launch the Alsat-2A satellite. The plan is to have the Alsat-2B in orbit by 2009 without French assistance. The country’s first satellite, Alsat-1, was launched five years ago. The total cost of the project, according to Mr. Oussedik, could reach US$16 to $17 million. Once the Alsat-2 launch has been completed, there are plans for a communications satellite to be placed into orbit to allow Algeria to be independent of international telecom services. Under the present program, a total of 10 satellites are planned.
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