India is set to launch its largest telecommunication satellite on SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket. So far, the satellites have been launched by ISRO, but for the first time, India has sought the Falcon-9 rocket.
The success of Chandrayaan 3, the Aditya L1 satellite, and the recently launched Exposat satellite have given India a special place in the international space industry. Subsequently, it has been announced that India’s giant GSAT-20 satellite will be launched by SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket.
With this announcement, various questions have arisen and as been explained by ISRO. That is, PSLV and GSLV rockets are in use at ISRO’s disposal. The NGLV rocket is currently under development. The rockets currently in use can only carry a satellite weighing a maximum of 4 tonnes. However, the currently manufactured GSAT-20 satellite weighs more than 4 tonnes.
Fast telecommunication service is available in developed cities all over the world. It also exists in India. However
, this service is not available in rural and remote areas. This is especially the case in Jammu and Kashmir and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. So to fix this, a powerful satellite called GSAT-20 has been developed. This state-of-the-art satellite will provide uninterrupted, high-speed telecommunication services in the above areas.
in short, it will challenge the likes of Starlink and OneWeb. It weighs about 4.7 tons. That is why it is said that the Falcon-9 type of rocket has been sought.
ISRO has launched such heavy satellites before but never sought SpaceX.
ISRO was looking for France’s Arianespace rocket instead. India has earlier launched 23 heavy-weight communication satellites on this rocket owned by the European Space Agency. The Ariane-5 rocket was recently retired, while the Ariane-6 has been delayed. So ISRO chief S Somanath has said that they have gone towards the Falcon-9 rocket without any other option.
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