HYDERABAD: India plans to launch on May 5 the ‘South Asia Satellite’ that will benefit all the countries in the region, except Pakistan which is not a part of the project.
“It’s going up in the first week of May,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman A S Kiran Kumar said in a telephonic interview.
According to ISRO sources, the launch of this communication satellite (GSAT-9) is scheduled for May 5 on board the space agency’s rocket GSLV-09 from Sriharikota spaceport.
Kiran Kumar said the satellite, with a lift-off mass of 2,195 kg, would carry 12 ku-band transponders.
“Pakistan is not included in that. They did not want (to be part of the project),” he said.
Sources said the satellite is designed for a mission life of more than 12 years. (AGENCIES)
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