India's First Satellite Dedicated To Military

August 30, 2013

[size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][color=#000000]India's first satellite dedicated to use by the military has been successfully launched into orbit. The GSAT-7, which has cost [/color][color=#000000]Rs.[/color][color=#000000] 185 crore, will transform the capabilities of the Indian Navy, allowing it to communicate with its fleet across the Indian Ocean through a top-secret encrypted system.[/color]

[color=#000000]Navy ships will be able to exchange data about the precise location of enemy ships and submarines. In the process, each ship in the fleet will have a comprehensive digital map of the position of friendly forces and enemy forces. The frequency bands of GSAT-7 will help space-based marine communications.[/color]

[color=#000000]Earlier, satellite communication in ships was through Inmarsat, a major provider of global mobile satellite communications services.[/color][/font][/size]

[size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][color=#000000]Built by the Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO, the satellite was launched during a 50-minute launch window starting 2 am from Kourou in South America using a French-made Ariane rocket. 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.[/color]

[color=#000000]Though the satellite has been built at home, India had to rent a European rocket for the launch since its own heavy rocket, the Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) has had several mishaps, the most recent being when it nearly went up in flames recently after a massive fuel leak.[/color]

[color=#000000]The entire mission has cost India [/color][color=#000000]Rs.[/color][color=#000000] 655 crore, including the rental for the rocket and insurance.[/color]

[color=#000000]With the launch of the 2.5 tonne satellite - as heavy as five adult elephants - India has joined a select club of countries including USA, Russian, France, Britain and China that have dedicated military communication satellites.[/color][/font][/size]