India to use SpaceX rocket to launch communications satellite

Utilising the services of SpaceX for the first time, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will deploy its heavy communication satellite GSAT-20 through the Falcon-9 rocket of the private space agency towards the middle of this year.

GSAT-20, which can enable telecom providers to offer very high-speed Internet services, weighs about 4,700 kg, much heavier than launch capacity of ISRO’s most powerful rocket, LVM-3. 

For its heavier satellites, weighing more than 4,000 kg, India had been depending on the European launch provider Arianespace. 

Arianespace’s heavy launch vehicle Ariane-5, however, was retired in July last year and its successor Ariane-6 is yet to make its debut.

Falcon-9, a reusable rocket, can carry double that weight, over 8,300 kg, to GTO. It has made 285 flights to different locations in space.

The Indian satellites flight on Falcon-9 has been facilitated by the NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of ISRO, that entered into a launch agreement with SpaceX last year.

GSAT-20, which would plug the high-speed connectivity gaps in rural and remote parts of the country and enable in-flight internet services as well, was initially scheduled to be launched in 2018 and then in 2020.

According to NSIL, the satellite would offer high data transmission capability over the entire country, including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.