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BENGALURU: India’s Space PSU NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), will launch a high-throughput satellite on Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket — the Falcon 9 — later this year, as TOI had reported late last night (NSIL TO LAUNCH ON SPACEX ROCKET).
While the satellite it plans to launch on Falcon 9 — the GSAT-20 (renamed GSAT-N2) — in the second quarter of 2024 is its second demand-driven communications satellite, the PSU is already looking at its third demand-driven satellite to be launched in 2025.The launcher for this will be decided at a later stage.
First about GSAT-N2: The satellite will be a high-throughput Ka-band satellite primarily aimed at meeting India’s growing broadband connectivity needs.
“NSIL will fully own, operate and fund the 4,700kg satellite, which can provide up to 48Gbps of capacity across 32 beams covering all of India including the Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep Islands,” the Space PSU said.
This is the first time that NSIL will launch on the US launcher. The PSU has earlier made use of the services of France’s Arianespace. NSIL looks for services abroad when the weight of the satellite is higher than the capacity of Indian launch vehicles.
NSIL CMD Radhakrishnan D told TOI: “SpaceX was selected against an RFP we had floated last year. There were other bidders too. This marks a new beginning as we launch on a US rocket from their soil. The present agreement is only for this launch and we will look at future requirements as and when we need.”
As part of the Indian government’s space sector reforms announced in 2020, NSIL is mandated to build, launch, own and operate satellites that address service needs on demand. In June 2022, NSIL successfully launched its first demand-driven satellite mission, GSAT-24 (now called GSAT-N1), which is fully leased by TataPlay. NSIL currently owns and operates 11 communication satellites in orbit.
3rd demand-driven satellite
Pointing out that the bulk of GSAT-N2’s high-throughput satellite (HTS) capacity has already been secured by Indian service providers for broadband services as well as in-flight and maritime connectivity, Radhakrishnan said the PSU will be launching another dedicated satellite in 2025.
“We are targetting a launch next year. Since it will also be a demand-driven satellite, we will spell out more details once we’ve secured contracts from customers. We will look for a launcher once we’ve completed the modalities on the satellite front,” Radhakrishnan said.
Given that Ariancespace’s Ariane-VI rocket has gotten delayed and the French firm has stopped production of Ariane-V, SpaceX is expected to get more customers wanting to launch heavy satellites, including those from India.
NSIL is working with Isro on realising the GSAT-N2, a cost-effective satellite that will play a significant role in connecting remote and underserved regions of the country.
While the satellite it plans to launch on Falcon 9 — the GSAT-20 (renamed GSAT-N2) — in the second quarter of 2024 is its second demand-driven communications satellite, the PSU is already looking at its third demand-driven satellite to be launched in 2025.The launcher for this will be decided at a later stage.
First about GSAT-N2: The satellite will be a high-throughput Ka-band satellite primarily aimed at meeting India’s growing broadband connectivity needs.
“NSIL will fully own, operate and fund the 4,700kg satellite, which can provide up to 48Gbps of capacity across 32 beams covering all of India including the Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep Islands,” the Space PSU said.
This is the first time that NSIL will launch on the US launcher. The PSU has earlier made use of the services of France’s Arianespace. NSIL looks for services abroad when the weight of the satellite is higher than the capacity of Indian launch vehicles.
NSIL CMD Radhakrishnan D told TOI: “SpaceX was selected against an RFP we had floated last year. There were other bidders too. This marks a new beginning as we launch on a US rocket from their soil. The present agreement is only for this launch and we will look at future requirements as and when we need.”
As part of the Indian government’s space sector reforms announced in 2020, NSIL is mandated to build, launch, own and operate satellites that address service needs on demand. In June 2022, NSIL successfully launched its first demand-driven satellite mission, GSAT-24 (now called GSAT-N1), which is fully leased by TataPlay. NSIL currently owns and operates 11 communication satellites in orbit.
3rd demand-driven satellite
Pointing out that the bulk of GSAT-N2’s high-throughput satellite (HTS) capacity has already been secured by Indian service providers for broadband services as well as in-flight and maritime connectivity, Radhakrishnan said the PSU will be launching another dedicated satellite in 2025.
“We are targetting a launch next year. Since it will also be a demand-driven satellite, we will spell out more details once we’ve secured contracts from customers. We will look for a launcher once we’ve completed the modalities on the satellite front,” Radhakrishnan said.
Given that Ariancespace’s Ariane-VI rocket has gotten delayed and the French firm has stopped production of Ariane-V, SpaceX is expected to get more customers wanting to launch heavy satellites, including those from India.
NSIL is working with Isro on realising the GSAT-N2, a cost-effective satellite that will play a significant role in connecting remote and underserved regions of the country.
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