SpaceX’s Falcon-9 takes off with India’s Gsat-20 | India News – Times of India

BENGALURU: SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket lifted off smoothly from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida early on Tuesday, carrying India’s Gsat-20 or Gsat-N2, a high throughput satellite that is designed to improve communications infrastructure.
Although the launch occurred as scheduled at 12:01 a.m., no details were available at press time on whether SpaceX was successful in placing the Gsat-20 into a desired orbit. According to the mission profile, Gsat-20 was expected to separate a few seconds after 12:38 p.m.
Weighing 4,700 kg and designed for a 14-year mission, the Gsat-20 represents a significant leap in satellite communications technology and according to Isro, the advanced high-throughput Ka-band satellite is designed to transform broadband and air connectivity across the region.
TOI had reported in the first week of January that India’s Space PSU NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) will launch Gsat-20 on Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket later this year.
This is NSIL’s second demand-side communications satellite and is primarily aimed at meeting the growing need for broadband connectivity in India.
NSIL will fully own, operate and finance the satellite, which can deliver up to 48 Gbps of capacity across 32 beams covering all of India, including the Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands.
NSIL CMD Radhakrishnan D had earlier told TOI, “SpaceX was selected based on an RFP we had launched last year. There were also other bidders. This marks a new beginning as we launch an American missile from their territory. The current agreement only applies to this launch and we will look at future requirements as and when required.”
This is the first time that NSIL – or even Isro for that matter – used an American launch vehicle. Isro and the PSU have previously used the services of France’s Arianespace. NSIL looks for services abroad when the weight of the satellite exceeds the capacity of Indian launch vehicles.
As part of the Indian government’s space sector reforms announced in 2020, NSIL has been mandated to build, launch, own and operate satellites that meet on-demand service needs.
In June 2022, NSIL successfully launched its first demand-response satellite mission, GSAT-24 (now called GSAT-N1), which is fully leased by TataPlay. “Although this is also a special satellite, it is not intended for a single company. There are several players in the fray,” an official told TOI.