SpaceX’s Falcon-9 to launch satellite to boost India region’s broadband & cellular connectivity

NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will soon launch a satellite mission to boost broadband services and connectivity over the India region.

The GSAT-N2 (formerly named GSAT-20) mission, gearing up for a launch in the upcoming quarter, will be only the second mission by NSIL, after its maiden attempt in June 2022 under the “demand-driven” satellite mission launches.

The mission aims to offer cost-effective Ka-Ka band high-throughput satellite (HTS) capacity towards enhancing in-flight and maritime connectivity, broadband and cellular services. NSIL officials said that the GSAT-N2 satellite has been custom-designed to suit the in-demand services required for improving connectivity over remote and sparsely connected Indian regions.

The GSAT-N2, weighing 4,700 kg, will be launched onboard Falcon-9, owned by billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

The satellite is enabled with 32 beam HTS capacity offering pan-India coverage, including Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The payload consists of three parabolic 2.5-meter deployable reflectors with multiple feeds generating 32 spot beams over the India region using a single-feed-per-beam configuration. Of the total 32 beams, 24 wide spot beams will cover the major parts of the country while eight narrow spot beams will overlook the Northeast India region. All these 32 beams will be supported by hub stations (for receiving data) located within mainland India.

Once the Ka-Band HTS communication payload is successfully launched, it will provide an enhanced throughput of approximately 48 Gbps, the ISRO said.

Each Ka-band antenna is equipped with deployment and pointing mechanisms for in-orbit deployment and precise pointing of the antennae. The GSAT-N2 will have onboard a sun sensor, an earth sensor, an inertial reference unit (IRU) and a star sensor. Indian Express