ISRO launches GSAT-7A satellite to add to India’s air power.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the country’s geostationary military communication satellite GSAT-7A onboard Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle GSLV-F11 from Sriharikota. The 2,250-kg GSAT-7A has a mission life of eight years. The satellite has been built to provide communication capability to the users in Ku-band over the Indian region.

GSAT-7A was the seventh launch of 2018 from Sriharikota and marks the 69th mission of GSLV-F11 for ISRO. GSLV-F11 is ISRO’s fourth generation launch vehicle with three stages

The launch is extremely significant for not just ISRO but for the Indian Air Force as well because it promises to boost how fighter jets communicate with each other during flight time. According to ISRO, air-to-air and air-to-ground communication can be enhanced with the satellite receiving and amplifying signals from jets and then relaying them to another jet or a ground station.

In addition, it promises to help drones in conducting surveillance-based operations. Unmanned drones can also be controlled better. The 2,250-kg GSAT-7A has a mission life of eight years. The satellite has been built to provide communication capability to the users in Ku-band over the Indian region.

ISRO To Launch Dedicated Communication Satellite GSAT-7A For Indian Air Force This Month.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to launch a dedicated communication satellite for the Indian Air Force in the third week of December, Times of India has reported.

“ISRO will launch a communication satellite GSAT-7A dedicated for the IAF in the third week of this month,” chairman of ISRO, K Sivan was quoted in the report as saying.

He further informed that there will be a PSLV launch in January followed by the launch of the communication satellite GSAT-31 from French Guiana to replace the INSAT 4CR which is expected to go out of service soon.

GSAT 7A, once deployed, will enable the IAF to interlink various ground radar stations, airbases, AWACS aircraft and will boost the network-centric warfare capabilities as well as enhance its global operations.

According to the report, the communication satellite, with a cost of around Rs 500-800 crore, will have a life span of nine years. ISRO’s GSLV MKII will take the satellite weighing 2.2 tonnes into orbit.

GSAT-7A deployment will also help the navy to upgrade from existing ground control stations to satellite control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

India currently has around 13 military satellites, with most of them being remote-sensing satellites like the Cartosat-series and RISAT satellites placed in the near-earth orbit for better scanning of Earth.

However, some of the Indian military satellites are placed in the geostationary orbit. These are used for surveillance, navigation and communication purposes by the armed forces.

Heaviest ISRO Satellite GSAT-11 Successfully Launched From French Guiana

India’s heaviest satellite GSAT-11, that will help boost broadband services in the country, was successfully launched by an Arianespace rocket from the French Guiana in the early hours of today.Blasting off from the Ariane Launch Complex in Kourou, a French territory located along the northeastern coast of South America at 02:07 am (IST), the Ariane-5 vehicle injected the GSAT-11 into the orbit in a flawless flight lasting about 33 minutes. The launch was broadcast live on Doordarshan.”…..the heaviest, largest and most powerful satellite ever built by India is successfully launched by Ariane-5 today,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Sivan said soon after the launch. Stating that GSAT-11 is going to be the “richest space asset” for India, he said “the satellite has 38 spot beams as well as eight sub beams, which would cover the entire country, including the remote places … it is going to provide something like 16 GBPS data link services to the country.” GSAT-11 is the third in a series of four satellites aimed at achieving the government’s ambitious target to provide high data connectivity of 100 GBPS in the country under the Digital India Mission, Mr Sivan added. Weighing about 5,854 kg, GSAT-11 is the “heaviest” satellite built by the ISRO. GSAT-11 is a next generation “high throughput” communication satellite configured around ISRO’s I-6K Bus, and its designed lifetime is more than 15 years. The satellite will be initially placed in the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit and later, raised to the Geostationary Orbit by firing the on-board Liquid Apogee Motor. The GSAT-11 is the fore-runner in a series of advanced communications satellites with multi-spot beam antenna coverage over Indian mainland and islands, the ISRO said. The satellite will play a vital role in providing broadband services across the country and also be a platform to demonstrate new generation applications, it said. GSAT-11 was initially planned for launch on May 25 but was rescheduled with the ISRO citing the need for additional technical checks and recalling it. According to the space agency, GSAT-11 would provide high data connectivity to users across India, broadband connectivity to gram panchayats under the BharathNet project and support high data rate applications for enterprise network and consumer broadband applications. The Ariane-5 vehicle (Flight VA246) also carried GEO-KOMPSAT-2A for the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), along with GSAT-11. The 3,507.20 kg GEO-KOMPSAT-2A is designed to conduct meteorological and space weather monitoring missions. Since the launch of India’s APPLE experimental satellite on Ariane Flight L03 in 1981, it has orbited 22 satellites under contracts with the Indian space agency, Arianespace said, adding that two more satellites, GSAT-31 and GSAT-30, were in the order book. idrw.org .Read more at India No 1 Defence News Website http://idrw.org/heaviest-isro-satellite-gsat-11-successfully-launched-from-french-guiana/ .