BENGALURU, India — The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is gearing up to launch the 2,000-kg. GSAT-5P communication satellite in October using a Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), an ISRO official tells AVIATION WEEK.
“Configured as an exclusive C-band communication satellite, GSAT-5P will carry 12 normal C-band transponders and six extended C-band transponders with wider coverage in uplink and downlink over Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe as well as zonal coverage,” the official says. “The spacecraft has a mission life of 12 years and [is] planned to be launched onboard GSLV-F06.”
The satellite is expected to expand existing telecommunication and television bandwidth. A Russian cryogenic engine will be powering the GSLV-F06; ISRO plans to launch a GSLV with an Indian-made cryogenic engine within a year. Meanwhile, former ISRO chief Madhavan Nair said in Bengaluru Aug. 22 that through combined efforts, India might launch a manned mission to the Moon by 2021.
“There are a lot of mysteries and hypotheses on the origin of the Moon, and probing into these could possibly throw light on the origin of the Earth, Solar System and even the universe,” he says. “Helium-3, emitted from the Sun and found on the Moon, could end the fossil fuel crisis in the future, though we need to do lot of explorations in this field.”
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