GSAT-24: Indian Communication Satellite successfully launched by ISRO

NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) launched GSAT-24, following the space reforms leasing the entire satellite’s capacity to Direct-to-Home (DTH) service provider Tata Play. This was the company’s first “demand-driven” communication satellite mission. The satellite, developed by the Indian Space Research Organization for NSIL, was successfully launched into geostationary orbit from Kourou in French Guiana by the Ariane 5 rocket (South America).

Key Points:

• GSAT-24 is a 4180 kg 24-Ku band communication satellite that provides pan-India coverage for DTH application requirements.
• The commercial arm of ISRO, NSIL was established in March 2019 and is a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Department of Space (DOS).
• NSIL was required to carry out operational satellite missions on a “demand driven” model as part of the “space reforms” announced by the government in June 2020.
• Under this model, NSIL is responsible for building, launching, owning, and operating satellites as well as providing services to its devoted customer.
• The 15-year mission life of GSAT-24 is configured on ISRO’s tried-and-true I-3k Bus.
• To suit the needs of its devoted customer Tata Play, the DTH division of the Tata Group, the whole satellite capacity on board GSAT-24 will be leased.

Two satellites, MEASAT-3d for the Malaysian operator MEASAT and GSAT-24, were successfully launched into geostationary orbit by the Ariane 5 after being carried aboard an Ariane-V VA257 flight from the Guiana Space Centre, Europe’s spaceport in Kourou.