CHENNAI, Feb 2: The Indian Space Agency was gearing up for the launch of its 40th Communication Satellite GSAT-31, weighing 2,535 kg, on February six, by the Ariane-5 launch vehicle from Kourou in French Guiana.
ISRO said on Saturday that the Satellite had already reached Kourou for integration with the launch vehicle.
With a mission life of 15 years, GSAT-31 was configured on ISRO’s enhanced I-2K Bus, utilising the maximum bus capabilities of this type.
It would augment the Ku-band transponder capacity in Geostationary Orbit.
GSAT-31 derives its heritage from ISRO’s earlier INSAT and GSAT satellite series.
The sources said ”this is a versatile satellite with a unique configuration providing flexible frequency segment and flexible coverage”.
The satellite provides Indian mainland and island coverage.
GSAT-31 will provide continuity to operational services on some of the in-orbit satellites and it will be used for supporting VSAT networks, Television uplinks, Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG), DTH-television services, cellular backhaul connectivity and many such applications.
GSAT-31 also provides a wide beam coverage to facilitate communication over large oceanic region comprising large parts of Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean using a wide band transponder.
Two Ku-band beacon downlink signals were transmitted for ground tracking purposes.
This would be ISRO’s second mission from Kourou in two months after it launched its next generation throughput communication atellite GSAT-11, weighing 5,854 kg, on December five last year. GSAT-11 was the fore-runner in the series of advanced communication satellites with multi-spot beam antenna coverage over Indian mainland and Islands. GSAT-11 would play a vital role in providing broadband services across the country, besides providing a platform for demonstrating new generation applications. (UNI)
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