GSAT-7: India's first military satellite launched successfully

Bangalore: India’s first exclusive defence satellite, the GSAT-7, was successfully launched by European space consortium Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, giving a major push to the country’s maritime security. The Indian Navy would be the user of the multi-band home-built communication spacecraft, expected to be operational by September end. The Rs 185-crore GSAT-7, the country’s maiden dedicated spacecraft for defence applications, was launched during a 50-minute launch window that started at 2 am on Friday. After a flight of almost 34 minutes, the satellite was injected into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) of 249 km perigee (nearest point to earth), 35,929 km apogee (farthest point to earth) and an inclination of 3.5 degree with respect to the equator. [caption id=“attachment_1071725” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The GSAT-7was launched successfully. Image courtesy: ISRO[/caption] Between August 3 and September 4, three orbit-raising operations will be performed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to place the satellite into a geostationary orbit of 36,000 km above the equator. By September 14, GSAT-7 is planned to be positioned in its orbital slot of 74 deg East longitude and subsequently the satellite’s communication transponders will be switched on. The frequency bands of GSAT-7 will help space-based marine communications. It has coverage over India’s land mass as well as over the surrounding seas. “It’s important from security and surveillance points of view,” an ISRO official said. According to a senior space scientist, so far the Navy had limitations from line of sight and ionospheric effects, among others, as far as space-based communications were concerned. It was thought essential to have an integrated platform for the Navy’s exclusive use. Earlier, satellite communication in ships was through Inmarsat, a major provider of global mobile satellite  communications services. According to ISRO, GSAT-7 is an advanced communication satellite to provide a wide service spectrum from low bit rate voice to high bit rate data communication. Its payload is designed to provide communication capabilities to users over a wide oceanic region including the Indian land-mass. The launch cost for ISRO wass around Rs 470 crore, including insurance. PTI