SRO launched India’s 40th communication satellite, GSAT-31, onboard European launch services provider Arianespace launch vehicle, this morning, from French Guiana.
The satellite was placed into the orbit within 42 minutes of its launch from Ariane Launch Complex at Kourou, a French territory located in the northeastern coast of South America, at 02:31 am (IST).
The satellite, GSAT-31, derives its heritage from ISRO’s earlier INSAT/GSAT satellite series, the space agency said, adding that it provides Indian mainland and island coverage.
“It gives me great pleasure on the successful launch of GSAT-31 spacecraft onboard Ariane-5, this is the third mission for ISRO in 2019,” ISRO Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) Director S Pandian said soon after the launch.
1. With a mission life of around 15 years, GSAT-31 will be used for supporting VSAT networks, television uplinks, digital satellite news gathering, DTH-television services, cellular backhaul connectivity, and many such applications.
2. It will also provide wide beam coverage to facilitate communication over a large oceanic region, comprising large parts of Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, using a wide band transponder.
3. According to ISRO, two Ku-band beacon downlink signals are transmitted for ground tracking purpose.
GSAT-30 is another geostationary satellite to be lofted soon by Arianespace.
Since the launch of India’s APPLE experimental satellite on Ariane Flight L03 in 1981, Arianespace has orbited 22 satellites and signed 24 launch contracts with the Indian space agency.
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[“source=indiatoday”]