On June 22, 2022, the NewSpace India Limited’s (NSIL), GSAT (Geosynchronous Satellite)-24 satellite was successfully launched through Ariane-5 Rocket/Ariane Flight VA257 by French company Arianespace from the Guiana Space Centre, in Kourou, French Guiana in South America. This is India’s 1st ‘demand-driven’ communication satellite
- GSAT24 is built by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for NSIL.
- It was the 25th Indian satellite launched by Arianespace and the 11th of the GSAT series.
It should be noted that, along with GSAT-24, Ariane 5 launcher also carried the MEASAT-3d satellite for Malaysia. With this, the total payload of the launcher was approximately 10,863 kg.
Background
NSIL, incorporated in March 2019, was mandated to undertake operational satellite missions on a “demand driven” model, wherein it has the responsibility to build, launch, own & operate satellites and provide services to its committed customer.
What is Demand-Driven?
“Demand-driven’ mode basically means when satellite is launched, one will know who the end customers are going to be and what’s the kind of utilisation and commitment so that you have very effective utilisation of this satellite capacity once it goes into orbit.
Features of GSAT:
i.It is a 24-Ku band communication satellite weighing 4180 kg with pan-India coverage for meeting DTH (Direct-To-Home) application needs.
ii.It will provide high-quality television, telecommunications and broadcasting services over India.
iii.It is configured on ISRO’s proven I-3k Bus with a mission life of 15 years.
Key Points:
i.GSAT-24 is NSIL’s first dedicated commercial satellite launch mission Tata Play’s (formerly TataSky) DTH services.
- It is fully funded, owned and operated by NSIL on a commercial basis.
ii.NSIL is a Government of India company under the Department of Space. It has leased the entire satellite capacity to Tata Play for 15 years.
iii.The MEASAT-3d satellite is of MEASAT, a Malaysian satellite operator. It is a multi-mission telecommunications satellite built by Airbus Defence and Space.
- It will significantly enhance broadband speeds of up to 100Mbps per user in areas with limited or no terrestrial network throughout Malaysia while continuing to provide redundancy and additional capacity for video distribution in HD, 4K, and ultimately 8K in the Asia-Pacific region.
Recent Related News:
i.OneWeb, the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a communications company has signed a MoU with NSIL. It will help OneWeb completes its satellite launch programme. The first launch with NSIL under this MoU is anticipated in 2022 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.
ii.On April 1, 2022, Indian space-tech startup Pixxel’s first satellite ‘Shakuntala (TD-2)’ hosting one of the highest resolution hyperspectral commercial cameras ever flown to space via the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket under its ‘Transporter 4 mission’.
About NewSpace India Limited (NSIL):
Chairman& Managing Director– Radhakrishnan Durairaj
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka