Communication satellite GSAT-29 placed in orbit after landmark launch

GSAT-29 will help communication in remote places in the North East and in Jammu and Kashmir.

India on Saturday positioned in orbit the country’s latest communication satellite GSAT-29 that will help communication in remote places in the North East and in Jammu and Kashmir, marking an important milestone in the country’s space mission.

The Indian Space Research Organisation’s heaviest rocket--Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III)-- launched the satellite on Wednesday after blasting off from Sriharikota in Andhdra Pradesh.

GSLV-Mk III’s success proves ISRO ability to carry heavy satellites and boosts the space agency’s confidence at a time when it’s focused on two crucial programmes: Chandrayaan-2 and Human Space Programme.

ISRO, on Thursday and Friday, conducted the first and second orbit raisings of GSAT-29—manoeuvres to put the satellite in its targeted area in space.

GSAT-29 is a multi-beam, multi-band communication satellite weighing 3423 kg. The spacecraft will be located at 55 degrees east longitude and it's will have a mission life of 10 years. The satellite will improve communication in Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir to facilitate execution of Digital India initiatives, said ISRO Chairman Dr K Sivan.

The advanced communication satellite GSAT-29, which will also link Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern states under the Digital India programme, was put into orbit by India's latest and heaviest rocket geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-Mk III/D2) on Wednesday.

GSAT-29 is a multi-beam satellite that carries Ka/Ku-band high throughput communication transponders.

It has technologies like Q/V-band payload and data transmission through optical communication that will be used for satellite-to-satellite communication, said D K Das, Director, Space Applications Centre, ISRO. GSAT-29 carries a 55-metre geo-high resolution camera that would be fixed in the weather satellites, once it starts functioning, Sivan said.

 A combination of GSAT-19, GSAT-29, GSAT-11 and GSAT-20 satellites will give India the high-speed internet needed for the success of Digital India programme, said Sivan.