On Tuesday, Elon Musk’s renowned Space X successfully launched India’s most advanced communication satellite, GSAT-N2, from Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida using the former’s Falcon 9 rocket.
This marks a major achievement following the first of many commercial collaborations between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and SpaceX. Notably, this is also the first time that the Indian space agency launched a satellite on a SpaceX rocket through its commercial arm New Space India Limited (NSIL). The launch took place at around one minute past midnight when the GSAT-N2 set off for its 34-minute journey into outer space on board Elon Musk-owned SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on its 396th flight.
Radhakrishnan Durairaj, Chairman and Managing Director of New Space India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told the media “Launch successful.” Meanwhile, Durairaj who monitored the flight from Cape Canaveral told media that the GSAT 20 got a very precise orbit. Space X owner Elon Musk also shared a video of the launch of the Indian communication satellite which aims to provide broadband services in remote areas and in-flight Internet in passenger aircraft.
Deployment of @NSIL_India GSAT-N2 confirmed pic.twitter.com/AHYjp9Zn6S
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 18, 2024
GSAT-20 or GSAT-N2 (GSAT-20) is a 4700 kg Ka-band high-throughput communication satellite used to enhance broadband services and in-flight connectivity (IFC) across the Indian region. This satellite features multiple spot beams and wideband Ka x Ka transponders, which aim to support a large subscriber base with small user terminals, and significantly boost the system throughout its multi-beam architecture. It has a mission life of 14 years and is equipped with 32 user beams, comprised of 8 narrow spot beams over the Northeast region and 24 wide spot beams over the rest of India.
The Indian space agency has previously relied on French commercial launch service provider Arianespace for such heavy satellite launches. However, the company currently does not have any operational rockets at present and with no current options from Russia due to the Ukraine conflict, and China amid off-limits, SpaceX seemed the best available option for India.
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