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India will launch its 25th communication satellite on Thursday, which will have the capability to beam multimedia content at high speeds to mobile devices.
The satellite, GSAT-6, will carry a six-metre unfurlable antenna that allows beaming data on ‘S band’ frequency to a distributed mobile audience across the country. The satellite will also have ‘C band’ transponders that will be used for secure communication for the defence forces.
Indian Space Research Organisation has built the 2.1-tonne GSAT-6 satellite, the 12th in the GSAT series, on its own. Isro’s earlier plan to build the GSAT-6 satellite with S band transponders jointly with Devas Multimedia, a start-up floated by former Isro officials, was scrapped in 2012 on charges that S band spectrum was being offered to the private firm at cheap rates. A panel absolved former Isro chairman Madhavan Nair and other officials including for Antrix Corp CEO K R Sridhara Murthi of procedural lapse. In March, CBI filed a case against Murthi and Devas officials of cheating and money laundering of Rs 578 crore into the company. Devas has approached the international court of arbitration in Paris against Antrix for scrapping the deal.
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On Thursday, the GSAT-6 satellite will be launched from the home-grown Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle D6 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh. A six-metre antenna, the largest designed by Isro, will be used for five spot beams. Spot beams help improve utilisation of spectrum frequency, reducing duplicity of transponders and giving better coverage across the country.
“After this August launch, every year we will have two GSLV MkII launches. The satellites are commercial in the sense it will be used for applications,” A S Kiran Kumar, chairman of Isro, had told Business Standard in a recent interview.
This will also be the second GSLV with a indigenous cryo upper stage – critical for launching heavier communication satellites into space. Isro tested a demonstrator of new GSLV Mk-III early this year that could potentially be used to hurl 4-tonne satellites and a manned space mission in future.
