Chennai: Union Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences
Dr Jitendra Singh on Tuesday hailed ISRO and US-based SpaceX for the successful launch of
India’s communication Satellite GSAT-N2 (also called as GSAT-20) from Cape Canaveral using Falcon-9 launch vehicle early today.
In a social media post, Dr Jitendra Singh said “Kudos team #ISRO & #SpaceX for successful
launch of #GSAT N2. Aims at enhancing internet services, including in remote areas as well
as in-flight connectivity.”
“With personal intervention of PM Sh @narendramodi, ISRO has been able to register one
success after the other”, he wrote.
Earlier, after the successful launch of the mission, ISRO shared a SpaceX tweet “Successfully
into the orbit.Deployment of @NSIL_India GSAT-N2 confirmed”.
India’s advanced communication satellite GSAT-N2 aimed at enhancing inflight connectivity
was successfully launched from Elon Musk-owned SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket in US.
This is ISRO’s first ever rocket launch mission with SpaceX.
The rocket, carried the lone payload, the 4,700 kg satellite, in an exclusive commercial mission
and the first from SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral launch station for ISRO, facilitated by its commercial
arm NSIL.
After a flight duration of about 33 minutes and after the first stage of the vehicle landed on the Just
Read the Instructions droneship, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, the satellite was injected in to the
GEO.
ISRO till now relied on Ariane Rocket for its heavy weight GSAT launches from Kourou in French Guyana.
Since it has stopped launching sequences, it tied up SpaceX by the Indian government’s New
Space India Limited (NSIL), ISRO’s commercial arm for this exclusive commercial launch.
UNI
