Bangladesh is poised to ink a significant agreement with France for its second earth observation satellite, with a focus on non-military applications like environmental monitoring, meteorology, and cartography.

A Letter of Intent (LOI) will be signed between Bangladesh Satellite Company Ltd (BSCL) and Airbus, a European firm with major French ownership, during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Bangladesh, currently underway in Dhaka.

The LOI is anticipated to be finalized and signed within the next month or two, pending agreement on pricing and other essential conditions.

Bangladesh’s initial geostationary communications and broadcasting satellite, the Bangabandhu Satellite-1, was constructed by the French company Thales Alenia Space and launched on May 12, 2018. 

This satellite orbits the Earth at a distance of 22,500 miles and primarily serves television and V-SAT (very small-aperture terminal) needs.

Last year, on February 2, the state-run BSCL entered into a cooperative arrangement with Russia’s Glavkosmos, with the aim of launching Bangladesh’s second satellite by 2023.

This partnership involved Glavkosmos’ responsibility for both building and launching an earth observation satellite, with a budget exceeding $430 million.

However, this plan encountered unexpected challenges when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unfolded just weeks after the agreement was struck. 

The resulting sanctions imposed by the US and its allies further complicated the satellite’s launch.