Press Release

INDIA LAUNCHES SOUTH ASIA SATELLITE GSAT-9-A GIFT FROM INDIA TO SOUTH ASIA

          The Indian-built GSAT 9 communications satellite was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on India’s east coast on 5^th May, 2017. A 161-foot-tall (49-meter) GSLV gave the satellite a boost into an oval-shaped geostationary transfer orbit approximately 17 minutes following launch. The GSAT 9 satellite, also known as the South Asia Satellite, contacted ground controllers at a station in Hassan, India, shortly after arriving in space. The GSLV Mk. 2 launcher placed the 4,916-pound (2,230-kilogram) GSAT 9 spacecraft into an initial transfer orbit ranging in altitude between 105 miles (169 kilometers) and 22,434 miles (36,105 kilometers), very close to prelaunch predictions. In the coming weeks, GSAT 9 will move into an operational position at 48 degrees east longitude in geostationary orbit, then switch on its 12 Ku-band transponders for testing before entering service for users in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan. GSLV-F09 was the second space launch of the year by India, coming after a Feb. 15 liftoff of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle with a record payload of 104 satellites. The smaller PSLV has logged 38 straight successful missions, carving a niche in the global launch market to loft lightweight satellites for foreign companies and governments. The South Asia Satellite project cost the Indian government more than $60 million. GSAT 9 is designed for a 12-year lifetime, and the satellite carries four stationary plasma thrusters in a technology demonstration of an electric propulsion system.

          “Today is a historic day for South Asia, a day without precedence,” PM Modi said. “Two years ago, India made a promise, a promise to extend the advanced space technology for the cause of growth and prosperity of our brothers and sisters in South Asia. The successful launch of the South Asia Satellite marks the fulfilment of that,” PM Modi continued. “With this launch we have started a journey to build the most advanced frontier of our partnership. With its position high in the sky, this symbol of South Asian cooperation will meet the aspirations of economic progress of more than 1.5 billion people in our region, and extend our close links into outer space.”

HCI ,Ottawa

08.07.17