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Sunday, April 8, 2012
OP-ED
Sunday Pouch
Satellite yes, drones maybe!
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=229384
Ashfaqur Rahman
Last week, a US company, Space Partnership International (SPI), signed an exclusive agreement with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to provide consultancy services for the launching of the country's first communication satellite. The contract, which is a multi-disciplinarian agreement, is to assist Bangladesh in the development and implementation of a complex satellite business. The satellite to be launched will be called "Bangabandhu."
The satellite system that SPI will help launch will "complement Bangladesh's terrestrial telecommunication infrastructure and expand its telecommunications capabilities throughout the region. It will also help to narrow the digital divide."
Specifically, the satellite will provide high-speed internet and direct-to-home broadcast, and help corporate communications in a cost effective manner. The satellite can also be used by other countries in the region for similar services, on payment.
The role of SPI would be to make feasibility and engineering studies, coordinate regulation and frequency, develop business, procure insurance for the launch, etc. It has been reported that BTRC has already set up a project office from where all these tasks will be carried out. SPI will also help in hiring a manufacturing company to build and get the satellite launched by 2015.
At present, Bangladesh spends $11 million each year just to rent and use the bandwidth for our own needs, through the satellites of other countries. But, by spending $150 million to build, launch and operate "Bangabandhu," it is expected that Bangladesh could earn $3 billion in fifteen years. 19 countries in Asia have their own satellites orbiting in space. India launched its first satellite in 1980 and Pakistan in 1990.
The proposed launching of a Bangladeshi satellite is good news. Besides being used for telecommunications it will usher us into the space age. The technology and the use of the infrastructure will encourage many to study the related subjects. We will acquire the latest knowledge in these areas and build up our own human resources. Our entrepreneurs can invest in this technology as it is paying. There are various services related to this technology which can also be developed in Bangladesh.
In many countries, however, policy makers are shifting their focus now to using drones to do some of the work that satellites do.
A drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle. It is an aircraft without a pilot on board and is controlled by on-board computers. It could also be guided by remote control by a navigator or a pilot on the ground.
Drones come in various shapes and sizes and with different characteristics. The military is the largest user. In many countries drones are used for civilian applications like fire-fighting, security work, patrolling the border, surveillance, looking after oil and gas pipelines, etc. So far as we know telecommunication, which is what we plan to use our satellite for, is yet to be one of its civilian uses.
Drones, however, have also acquired a bad name. The US is using military drones to target "terrorists" in Afghanistan and in the bordering areas of Pakistan. In the past, it did so also in Iraq. In fact, the US had started the use of drones for military targeting as far back as the Vietnam War.
Drone have a serious disadvantage. While targeting a human, the missile launched from the drone can also kill the wrong person or cause collateral damage. Often women and children die along with the targeted person. This is one of the primary reasons behind the present deterioration of bilateral relations between the US and Pakistan and the US and Afghanistan in their joint pursuit to eliminate the militant Taliban.
Today, drones are classified on the basis of the functions they carry out. There are drones which are used specifically for targeting and decoy, for reconnaissance, for combat, for operation of logistics, for research and for civilian and commercial use. Drones are also categorised on the basis of size, range and the altitude at which they can operate. Thus, from a handheld drone with a 2 km range, there could be drones that can travel at a low earth orbit. The US is now testing a nuclear powered drone that can fly for months at a time without touching the ground.
Taking all the categorisations into account, drones could well be useful for a resource- strapped Bangladesh.
Since drones are relatively cheap to operate, and since they have a number of non-military uses, we should consider using specific types that meets our national needs. They do not need large air strips or costly maintenance. Even the ground stations could be modest. A tiny strip of land, which is made to specification to launch and retrieve the vehicle, can be used.
Thus remote sensing, aerial surveillance, mineral, gas and oil exploration, exploiting natural resources in inaccessible places, search and rescue missions are some of the uses they can be put to.
We should try to see whether we can use drones to also patrol our territorial sea, our exclusive economic zone and the seas beyond the continental shelf allotted to us under the recent award given by the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Since these aerial vehicles are unmanned our navy can use them for surveillance and to help interdict hostile ships and predator trawlers coming from foreign countries. It will cost less to operate and cover a larger area without risk to life and limb of our personnel. Images of the hostile ships can be beamed back to the ground stations so that the navy can take immediate necessary action.
Bangladesh must, therefore, make use of this new technology. Will our government take note and seriously examine the use of drones for such purposes?
The writer is a former Ambassador and a regular commentator on contemporary issues.
E-mail: ashfaque303@gmail.com
OP-ED
Sunday Pouch
Satellite yes, drones maybe!
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=229384
Ashfaqur Rahman
Last week, a US company, Space Partnership International (SPI), signed an exclusive agreement with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to provide consultancy services for the launching of the country's first communication satellite. The contract, which is a multi-disciplinarian agreement, is to assist Bangladesh in the development and implementation of a complex satellite business. The satellite to be launched will be called "Bangabandhu."
The satellite system that SPI will help launch will "complement Bangladesh's terrestrial telecommunication infrastructure and expand its telecommunications capabilities throughout the region. It will also help to narrow the digital divide."
Specifically, the satellite will provide high-speed internet and direct-to-home broadcast, and help corporate communications in a cost effective manner. The satellite can also be used by other countries in the region for similar services, on payment.
The role of SPI would be to make feasibility and engineering studies, coordinate regulation and frequency, develop business, procure insurance for the launch, etc. It has been reported that BTRC has already set up a project office from where all these tasks will be carried out. SPI will also help in hiring a manufacturing company to build and get the satellite launched by 2015.
At present, Bangladesh spends $11 million each year just to rent and use the bandwidth for our own needs, through the satellites of other countries. But, by spending $150 million to build, launch and operate "Bangabandhu," it is expected that Bangladesh could earn $3 billion in fifteen years. 19 countries in Asia have their own satellites orbiting in space. India launched its first satellite in 1980 and Pakistan in 1990.
The proposed launching of a Bangladeshi satellite is good news. Besides being used for telecommunications it will usher us into the space age. The technology and the use of the infrastructure will encourage many to study the related subjects. We will acquire the latest knowledge in these areas and build up our own human resources. Our entrepreneurs can invest in this technology as it is paying. There are various services related to this technology which can also be developed in Bangladesh.
In many countries, however, policy makers are shifting their focus now to using drones to do some of the work that satellites do.
A drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle. It is an aircraft without a pilot on board and is controlled by on-board computers. It could also be guided by remote control by a navigator or a pilot on the ground.
Drones come in various shapes and sizes and with different characteristics. The military is the largest user. In many countries drones are used for civilian applications like fire-fighting, security work, patrolling the border, surveillance, looking after oil and gas pipelines, etc. So far as we know telecommunication, which is what we plan to use our satellite for, is yet to be one of its civilian uses.
Drones, however, have also acquired a bad name. The US is using military drones to target "terrorists" in Afghanistan and in the bordering areas of Pakistan. In the past, it did so also in Iraq. In fact, the US had started the use of drones for military targeting as far back as the Vietnam War.
Drone have a serious disadvantage. While targeting a human, the missile launched from the drone can also kill the wrong person or cause collateral damage. Often women and children die along with the targeted person. This is one of the primary reasons behind the present deterioration of bilateral relations between the US and Pakistan and the US and Afghanistan in their joint pursuit to eliminate the militant Taliban.
Today, drones are classified on the basis of the functions they carry out. There are drones which are used specifically for targeting and decoy, for reconnaissance, for combat, for operation of logistics, for research and for civilian and commercial use. Drones are also categorised on the basis of size, range and the altitude at which they can operate. Thus, from a handheld drone with a 2 km range, there could be drones that can travel at a low earth orbit. The US is now testing a nuclear powered drone that can fly for months at a time without touching the ground.
Taking all the categorisations into account, drones could well be useful for a resource- strapped Bangladesh.
Since drones are relatively cheap to operate, and since they have a number of non-military uses, we should consider using specific types that meets our national needs. They do not need large air strips or costly maintenance. Even the ground stations could be modest. A tiny strip of land, which is made to specification to launch and retrieve the vehicle, can be used.
Thus remote sensing, aerial surveillance, mineral, gas and oil exploration, exploiting natural resources in inaccessible places, search and rescue missions are some of the uses they can be put to.
We should try to see whether we can use drones to also patrol our territorial sea, our exclusive economic zone and the seas beyond the continental shelf allotted to us under the recent award given by the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Since these aerial vehicles are unmanned our navy can use them for surveillance and to help interdict hostile ships and predator trawlers coming from foreign countries. It will cost less to operate and cover a larger area without risk to life and limb of our personnel. Images of the hostile ships can be beamed back to the ground stations so that the navy can take immediate necessary action.
Bangladesh must, therefore, make use of this new technology. Will our government take note and seriously examine the use of drones for such purposes?
The writer is a former Ambassador and a regular commentator on contemporary issues.
E-mail: ashfaque303@gmail.com
