On April 10, 1982, India launched its first multipurpose satellite, INSAT-1. This satellite was used for both communications and weather forecasting. The Indian Space Research Organization contracted NASA to launch it, and it was built by the American company Ford Aerospace. INSAT-1 lifted off on a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida and entered a geostationary orbit. This meant that it was always observing the same part of the planet. While its launch was successful, the satellite had some trouble with its solar arrays and antennas while in orbit. Its stabilization boom failed to deploy, so the satellite's instruments weren't pointed in the right direction. Then it used up all its propellant while trying to correct its orientation. The mission was designed to last 7 years, but it only made it to 17 months before it was abandoned.Catch up on our entire "On This Day In Space" series on YouTube with this playlist.Email Hanneke Weitering at [email protected] … [Read more...] about On This Day in Space! April 10, 1982: India Launches 1st Multipurpose Satellite
India launching satellite
India Launches Hefty Communications Satellite Into Orbit to Cap Busy 2018
India has successfully squeezed a seventh launch into the year, using an upgraded version of the country's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle to place a massive communications satellite into orbit for the Indian Air Force today (Dec. 19). That communications satellite, called the GSAT-7A, weighs nearly 5,000 lbs. (2250 kilograms) and will allow the Indian Air Force to manage all of its space communications itself, rather than paying for satellite services, according to reporting by The Times of India. "This mission, both in the launch vehicle as well as the satellite, there are so many firsts," K. Sivan, chair of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told Spaceflight Now. The vehicle blasted off from India's spaceport, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, at 4:10 p.m. local time (5:40 a.m. EST, 1040 GMT), and the satellite deployed about 19 minutes into flight. Over the next few days, the ISRO will nudge the satellite into its final orbit, according to a statement from the … [Read more...] about India Launches Hefty Communications Satellite Into Orbit to Cap Busy 2018
India’s new satellite is a first step in providing rural areas with faster internet
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 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