• Nigeria's government-owned NIGCOMSAT has contracted Thales Alenia Space to build the nearly four-tonne NigComSat-2A on its Spacebus B2 platform
  • The satellite is designed for more than 15 years of service across West, Central and Southern Africa, but its launch date and contract value remain undisclosed

The fact

Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, or NIGCOMSAT, has contracted Thales Alenia Space to build NigComSat-2A, a new geostationary communications satellite. Thales announced the contract on 14 September but did not disclose its financial value.

NigComSat-2A will use Thales Alenia Space's Spacebus B2 platform and have a launch mass of nearly four tonnes. The spacecraft is designed to operate for more than 15 years and provide coverage across West and Central Africa and into Southern Africa. Planned services include television broadcasting, broadband internet, voice calls and streaming.

NIGCOMSAT already operates NigComSat-1R, which launched in December 2011. The company has not disclosed a launch provider or launch date for NigComSat-2A, nor has it announced customer capacity commitments or a timetable for commercial service.

The assessment

The contract gives NigComSat-2A a manufacturer and spacecraft platform, but customers still do not have a date for using the new capacity. The satellite has to be designed, built and tested before it can be launched, followed by in-orbit testing and integration with the ground systems that will carry traffic to and from users.

Its planned operating life of more than 15 years also makes the eventual capacity plan important. NIGCOMSAT will need enough demand across the satellite's coverage area to keep that capacity in use over a long period. The announcement describes the intended services and geographic reach, but does not disclose payload capacity, customer commitments or commercial terms.

For BTW readers, the manufacturing contract moves NigComSat-2A from an objective into a contracted spacecraft programme. A launch window, ground-segment plan and service-entry timetable will show when that programme is getting closer to usable capacity rather than simply a satellite under construction.

What to watch

Watch for NIGCOMSAT to disclose the satellite's payload configuration, launch provider and launch window, followed by any gateway upgrades and customer capacity agreements. After launch, successful in-orbit testing and a confirmed commercial service date will mark the final steps towards making NigComSat-2A capacity available.