IIn a significant development to meet the long pending demands of the Indian defence forces for an exclusive satellite, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is launching GSAT-7 a communication satellite on August 30 from South American launch centre at Kourou. An ISRO official told The Pioneer that the satellite with strategic applications with KU and C band payloads would be launched on August 30 from French Guyana.
GSAT-7 is going to be the first strategic and exclusive satellite for the use of Indian defence forces. This satellite is expected to play a major role in augmenting Indian defence communication network. According to a source, GSAT-7 is the only Indian space craft which deals with Indian Navy’s communication network at all time changing the dynamics of modern warfare. This satellite is viewed as an exclusive communication networking arm for the Indian war ships.
According to ISRO website GSAT -7 a 2,550-kg satellite is undergoing preliminary checks at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou and carries multiple bands in ultra high frequency, S band, C band and the higher Ku band. ISRO had launched RISAT-1,TecSAR and TES earth observatory satellites with high resolution cameras to identify objects from the heights of over 700 kms. Meanwhile ISRO has announced that it is gearing up for the flight test of GSlV -D5 launch vehicle with cryogenic engine on August 19. ISRO is launching GSlV-D5 with GSAT-14 satellite on board from Sriharikota after three years of the failure on flight testing of the indigenous cryogenic stage in GSlV-D3 mission.