In a first, ISRO satellite to launch on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. Check details
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off, carrying 53 Starlink internet satellites, from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. May 18, 2022. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) will use SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket for a mission launch later this year, the 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 the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
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.’
It has been involved in 285 launches, 243 landings, and 217 re-flights.
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