ISRO to launch 6,500 kg US communication satellite

After marking a humble beginning in the Indian space programme with a tiny rocket supplied by the US, ISRO would launch a 6,500 kg communication satellite built by the US in the next couple of months, space agency Chairman V Narayanan said on Sunday.

Following the historic launch of NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission onboard a GSLV-F16 rocket on July 30, ISRO would be launching another satellite for the US, he said at an event near Chennai.

Narayanan, who is also the secretary of Department of Space, was presented with the honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan during the 21st convocation of SRM Institute of Science and Technology at Kattankulathur near Chennai.

Narayanan recalled that the ISRO was set up in 1963 and the country was six years behind advanced countries then. In the same year, a tiny rocket was donated by the US, 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), July 30 was a historical day for the Indian space programme. We launched the NISAR satellite. The costliest satellite ever built in the world. The L Band SAR payload from the US 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.