Adding another feather in their cap, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched GSAT-30 communication satellite -- a first in 2020. The satellite was launched onboard European space consortium Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket, which blasted off from Ariane Launch Complex in Kourou, a French territory in South America, and it will help in DTH, television uplink and VSAT services for 15 years. According to Indian space agency, the ‘flawless flight’ lasted about 38 minutes.
ISRO's U R Rao Satellite Centre Director P Kunhikrishnan, who was present in Kourou, called the launch an ‘excellent start’ to 2020, and added, ‘The mission team at the master control facility have already acquired the satellite and they will immediately complete the post launch operations....’ The 3,357 kg satellite was deployed into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). It will replace the ‘aging’ INSAT-4A spacecraft launched in 2005. ‘The satellite will also be used for bulk data transfer for a host of emerging telecommunication applications,’ ISRO Chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan said.
ISRO has said that the satellite will provide services to India and islands coverage in Ku band and extended coverage in C-band covering Gulf countries, a large number of Asian countries and Australia. The Ku and C bands are part of a spectrum of frequencies, ranging from 1 to 40 gigahertz. As mentioned, GSAT-30 ‘will provide DTH television Services, connectivity to VSATs [Very Small Aperture Terminals] for ATM, stock exchange, television uplinking and teleport services, Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) and e-governance applications.
