Our Bureau
Hawthorne, CA
India will launch a communications satellite using SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket this year, its first partnership with a venture led by billionaire Elon Musk. who also wants to expand his other businesses in the country.
The high-capacity satellite aims to boost India’s broadband communication, especially in remote and unconnected regions of the country, state-run NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), the commercial arm of India’s space agency, said in a statement.
The launch is scheduled for the second quarter of this year, NSIL said. The satellite weighs 4,700 kg, which exceeds the current highest spacecraft launching capacity of 4,000 kg of India’s space agency ISRO.
GSAT-20 (renamed as GSAT-N2) is a high throughput Ka-band satellite. Ka-band satellites deliver high-speed broadband internet connectivity and digital video and audio transmission.
GSAT-20, weighing 4,700 kg, offers HTS capacity of nearly 48Gpbs. The satellite has been specifically designed to meet the demanding service needs of remote/unconnected regions,” the statement read.
Musk, who is the chief executive of SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA.O), is keen to bring his Starlink satellite broadband to India and is also discussing an investment proposal for Tesla to set up a factory there to make electric vehicles.
