India cancels launch of Military Satellite
Shares
BENGALURU: Just weeks after the ISRO lose contact with GSAT-6A, the launch of communication satellite with military applications—GSAT-11—has been postponed.
The 5,725-kg satellite, which was scheduled for a May 25 by Arianespace <link> from Kourou, French Guiana, was expected to usher in an age of high-speed internet connectivity that could provide speeds of up to 14 Gbps, Times of India has reported.
Sources said that the Isro will now conduct a few more additional tests on the satellite as a precaution and to rectify glitches. The satellite, which had already reached the launch site will now have to be brought back.
The satellite, whose revised launch schedule could not be confirmed immediately, will carry 40 transponders in the Ku-band and Ka-band frequencies, “It provides 32 user beams in Ku-band and eight gateway beams in Ka-band,” Isro had said.
While no official confirmation was available from Isro, Arianespace, while confirming the postponement, said in a statement: “Due to additional technical checks with the Isro GSAT-11 satellite, to be conducted from the Isro Satellite Centre located at Bengaluru, the Ariane 5 launch initially planned for May 25, 2018, has been postponed.”
