ISRO To Launch First Satellite On SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket In August

In a first, Indian space agency ISRO will launch its latest large satellite on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

ISRO chairman S Somanath announced at the India Space Congress-2024 in New Delhi that the GSAT 20 satellite has been cleared. It will be shipped to the US and launched using the Falcon 9 rocket in the middle of August, he said. It will be a dedicated Falcon 9 launch.

The two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, about 70 metres in length, has had 358 launches till date with a high success rate.

Earlier, India was relying on Ariane Space to launch its heavy satellites, but now the French rocket has been decommissioned and a replacement is still under development.

India's latest communications satellite, GSAT 20, is a hi-tech heavy-weight satellite weighing 4,700 kg and will have a high throughput capacity of 48 GBPS. The satellite made by ISRO has 32 spot beams and it has been made to cover all of India but with a special emphasis on providing connectivity for Northeastern India.

The satellite will be owned and operated by ISRO's commercial arm New Space India Ltd (NSIL).

Mr Somanath said almost 80% capacity has already been sold to a private company, but did not identify the buyer.

ISRO had to go to SpaceX since India's own heavy rocket, the Launch Vehicle Mark 3, cannot lift such a heavy satellite.

Mr Somanath griped that there is not enough demand for India's rockets and he emphasized that India's private sector needs to make satellites that can be launched from India.

The upcoming launch marks a new beginning of Indo-US cooperation with the American private sector taking on a bigger role.

An India-Australia Collaboration

An Indo-Australian pact gives ISRO the first dedicated commercial launch on the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).

Space Machines Company, an Australian-Indian in-space servicing firm, has signed a landmark Launch Service Agreement with NSIL, a central government firm under the Department of Space, and the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

This pioneering collaboration sets the stage for the launch of Space Machines Company's second Optimus spacecraft weighing 450kg, the largest Australian-designed and built spacecraft so far. Slated for a dedicated launch aboard NSIL's SSLV in 2026, this mission will mark a defining moment for both nations in the area of space collaboration.

Mr Somanath has confirmed this will be the first dedicated full rocket launch of SSLV to be done on a commercial basis. SSLV is still a rocket under development.