ISRO to launch 6,500 kg US-built communication satellite in coming months

India’s space agency ISRO is set to launch a 6,500 kg communication satellite built by the United States in the coming months, a remarkable journey from its modest beginnings with a small rocket supplied by the US, ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan said on Sunday.

Speaking at an event near Chennai, Narayanan highlighted the historic launch of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission on July 30 aboard the Indian GSLV-F16 rocket. The collaboration involved the L-band SAR payload from the US and the S-band payload from ISRO. “The satellite was placed in orbit precisely by Indian launcher,” he said, adding that this milestone demonstrated India’s arrival alongside advanced spacefaring nations.

Narayanan, who also serves as Secretary of the Department of Space, was honoured with an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan during the 21st convocation of SRM Institute of Science and Technology near Chennai.

In his acceptance speech, Narayanan recalled that the ISRO was set up in 1963 and the country was 6-7 years behind advanced countries then. In the same year, a tiny rocket was donated by the United States marking the beginnings of the Indian Space Programme. ”It was on November 21, 1963,” he said.

In 1975, through satellite data given by the US, ISRO demonstrated ’mass communication’ by keeping 2,400 television sets across 2,400 villages of 6 Indian states, he said.

”From that (kind of humble beginnings), the 30th of July was a historical day for Indian space programme. We have launched the NISAR satellite. The costliest satellite ever built in the world. The L Band SAR payload from the USA and S Band payload provided by ISRO. The satellite was placed in orbit precisely by Indian launcher (GSLV). And today, we are shoulder to shoulder with advanced countries,” Narayanan remarked.

He noted that the team from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) appreciated their ISRO counterparts for the precision launch of the GSLV-F16/NISAR Mission.

”In another couple of months, a country which received a tiny rocket from the United States, is going to launch a 6,500 kg communication satellite built by the America using our own launcher from Indian soil. What a significant growth it is,” he noted.

From a country which did not have satellite technology 50 years back, ISRO has, to date, launched 433 satellites of 34 countries using its own launch vehicles, he said.

With inputs from agencies