Bangladesh enters space age

FT ONLINE

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy expressed his jubilation on his Facebook page over the launch of Bangabandhu-1, the first satellite of Bangladesh.

“With an accurate, successful launch, Bangladesh has entered into the space age. Our first artificial satellite, Bangabandhu-1, is now on its orbit. Joy Bangla Joy Bangabandhu,” he said.

Sajeeb Wazed Joy, also the son of the premier, came up with this remark on his verified Facebook page.

A Bangladesh delegation, led by Prime Minister's ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy, witnessed the launching of the satellite, which was visible for around seven minutes in the Florida's clear sky.

State Minister for Information Taran Halim, State Minister for ICT Junaid Ahmed Palak, BTRC Chairman Dr. Shahjahan Mahmud and other senior government officials attended the launching program in Florida.

The flagship satellite of the country rode into space from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, the USA, at 2:14 am on Saturday (May 12) Bangladesh time.

Falcon 9, the finest rocket of American firm SpaceX, is carrying the satellite to the orbit from the Cape Canaveral launching pad at 4:14 pm US local time.

The total expenditure on Bangabandhu satellite is about Tk 2,765 crore. Bangladesh government financed Tk 1000 crore while the rest is provided by foreign aids.