In a first, ISRO satellite to launch on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. Check details
The GSAT-20 satellite will be launched in the second quarter of the year, according to NSIL, ISRO's commercial arm.
NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) will use SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket for a mission launch later this year, the former – Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) commercial arm – announced on Wednesday.
The mission – GSAT-20 satellite launch – will be NSIL/ISRO's first with the Falcon 9 heavy lift launcher, and is scheduled for the second quarter of 2024.
“NSIL is realising GSAT-20 satellite through ISRO and will be launched on board Falcon 9 under a launch service contract between M/s NSIL and M/s SpaceX, USA,” NSIL said in a press release.
SpaceX, a US-based satellite communications company, was founded and is owned by Elon Musk, the world's richest person who also owns companies such as EV maker Tesla, X (formerly Twitter), etc.
About GSAT-20
NSIL's second ‘demand-driven’ satellite mission, GSAT-20 (now renamed as GSAT-N2) is the ISRO arm's second such mission, the first being June 2022's GSAT-24.
GSAT-20 aims to offer cost-effective ‘Ka-Ka band’ HTS (High Throughput Satellite) capacity, primarily for broadband and cellular backhaul service needs. It will cover the entire country, going as far as both Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep.
About SpaceX Falcon 9
World's first ‘orbital class reusable rocket,’ Falcon 9 is a two-stage launch vehicle designed for the ‘reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond.’
Till now, it has undertaken 285 launches, 243 landings, and 217 re-flights.