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WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
Major boost to broadband connectivity in rural areas India’s most-advanced high-throughput communication satellite GSAT-11 was successfully launched from Spaceport in French Guiana
NOTES
The satellite weighs 5854-kg GSAT-11 and is the heaviest satellite ever built by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). It has a mission life of 15 years.
RECENT SATELLITE LAUNCHES
WHAT ISRO SAID
“GSAT-11 will boost the broadband connectivity to rural and inaccessible Gram Panchayats in the country coming under the Bharat Net Project, which is part of Digital India Programme,” said ISRO Chairman Dr K Sivan.
NOTES
Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the GSAT-11 was launched on the Ariane 5 VA-246 rocket from Kourou Launch Base, French Guiana. The Ariane 5 also lifted off South Korea’s GEOKOMPSAT-2A satellites. Ariane 5 is one of three launch vehicles operated by Arianespace along with Soyuz and Vega.
ARIANE 5
Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift launch vehicle that is part of the Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) or low Earth orbit (LEO).
COMPARISON WITH GSLV
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Payload to GTO: 2,500 kg GSLV’s primary payloads are INSAT class of communication satellites that operate from Geostationary orbits and hence are placed in Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits by GSLV. Payload to LEO: 5,000 kg Further, GSLV’s capability of placing up to 5 tonnes in Low Earth Orbits broadens the scope of payloads from heavy satellites to multiple smaller satellites.
AFTER LAUNCH
After a 30-min flight, GSAT-11 separated from the Ariane 5 upper stage and reached close to the intended orbit. Soon after its separation, ISRO’s Master Control Facility at Hassan in Karnataka took over the command and control of GSAT-11 and found its health parameters normal. The scientists would now undertake phase-wise orbit tests to place the satellite in the Geostationary Orbit which is 36,000 km above the equator using its on-board propulsion systems, after which the satellite is expected to become operational.
FUTURE LAUNCHES
GSAT-30 and 31will also be launched by Arianespace 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.
BUT GOOD FOR OUR COUNTRY
GSAT-11 is part of ISRO’s new family of high-throughput communication satellite (HTS) fleet that will drive the country’s Internet broadband from space to untouched areas; the broadband domain is now ruled by underground fibre and covers partial and convenient locations. Already up in space are two HTSs — GSAT-29 (November 14) and GSAT-19 (June 2017) The HTSs will also be the backbone of pan-India digital or easy Internet-based programmes and services — such as Digital India, BharathNet for rural e-
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