India launched its heaviest satellite, the GSAT-11, also called ‘The Big Bird,’ from the French space port of Kourou in South America, earlier today. The satellite is expected to provide high-bandwidth connectivity in the country, with data transfer speeds of up to 14 Gbps. Hard Fork Decentralized is our delightful new event It’s in London from December 12-14 Join us The satellite, weighing in at 5,854 kg and costing nearly $85, million, and has a lifetime of more than 15 years. It was launched into orbit by an Arianespace rocket – a European launch vehicle – in a flight lasting 33 minutes. ISRO’s chairman Dr K Sivan noted in the organization’s press release that GSAT-11 was the heaviest and most-advanced high-throughput communication satellite launched by the country. Sivan added that GSAT-11 is the third in a series of four satellites aimed at achieving high data connectivity of 100 Gbps in the country under the Digital India … [Read more...] about India’s new satellite is a first step in providing rural areas with faster internet
India launching satellite
India launches rocket with 31 satellites into space
On Thursday, India successfully placed a new Earth-imaging satellite and 30 smaller satellites belonging to eight different countries into orbit. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket, which carried the satellites, was launched from the Sriharikota space port in southern India. The Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite HysIS, which weighs about 380 kilograms, aims to study the Earth's surface in "visible, near infrared, and shortwave infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum", ISRO said in a statement. It will also allow the identification of distinct objects from space. "On the journey ahead, the road is full of traffic for us," ISRO chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan, who was congratulating scientists at the launch centre, said. The ISRO has an ambitious space program. According to SpaceFlight Now, Thursday's launch was the second in 15 days, following a separate launch earlier this month. It was also the sixth Indian space launch of the year, and the … [Read more...] about India launches rocket with 31 satellites into space
Big New Indian Rocket Launches Satellite, Setting Stage for Moon Mission
India's most powerful rocket aced its second orbital flight Wednesday (Nov. 14), setting the stage for a robotic lunar mission in January. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 6:38 a.m. EST (1138 GMT) Wednesday, successfully delivering the GSAT-29 communications satellite into orbit. "India has achieved [a] significant milestone with our heaviest launcher lifting off the heaviest satellite from the Indian soil," ISRO Chairman K. Sivan said in a statement. "The launch vehicle has precisely placed the satellite in its intended orbit. I congratulate [the] entire ISRO team for this achievement." [In Photos: India's Most Powerful Rocket Aces 2nd Test Launch!] The GSLV Mk III's first orbital test launch, in June 2017, was successful as well. The ISRO also launched an experimental version of the GLSV Mk III in 2014 to test a prototype … [Read more...] about Big New Indian Rocket Launches Satellite, Setting Stage for Moon Mission
Private companies are launching a new space race – here’s what that means
The space race between the USA and Russia started with a beep from the Sputnik satellite exactly 60 years ago (October 4, 1957) and ended with a handshake in space just 18 years later. The handshake was the start of many decades of international collaboration in space. But over the past decade, there has been a huge change. The space environment is no longer the sole preserve of government agencies. Private companies have entered the exploration domain and are propelling the sector forward more vigorously and swiftly than would be the case if left to governments alone. It could be argued that a new space race has begun, in which private companies are competing against each other and against government organizations. But this time it is driven by a competition for customers rather than the urge to show dominance by being first to achieve a certain goal. So who are the main players and how will they change the science, technology, and politics of space exploration? Put the phrase … [Read more...] about Private companies are launching a new space race – here’s what that means
India loses contact with a recently launched satellite
The launch, aboard the GSLV-F08 rocket, appeared to go smoothly, and the satellite successfully completed an orbital maneuver following its deployment into geosynchronous transfer orbit. GSAT-6A was then supposed to execute another operation to raise its orbit a day later. About four minutes after that maneuver occurred, officials lost contact with the satellite.The successful launch of GSAT-6A was seen as a huge triumph for India's space program, so this is certainly a setback. The country has been developing a robust space program capable of competing on the world stage for years. It doesn't help that this is the second satellite that the agency has lost in the last six months; the last failure was one of the launch vehicle PSLV, rather than the satellite itself.Still, all is not lost. ISRO Chairman K. Sivan told The Hindu that, according to the data the organization has right now, "we expect that we will be able to recover the satellite." That's certainly good news, and will help … [Read more...] about India loses contact with a recently launched satellite