ISRO's GSAT-7R will enable real-time data and video link for Indian Navy's ships, aircraft
ISRO's GSAT-7R will enable real-time data and video link for Indian Navy's ships, aircraft Photograph: (Others)
India will launch GSAT-7R (CMS-03), its largest military communication satellite, aboard the LVM3 rocket from Sriharikota at 5:26 pm on Sunday (Nov 2). Weighing 4,400 kg, the indigenously built satellite will boost secure naval communication and replace the ageing GSAT-7 launched in 2013.
GSAT-7R or CMS-03, India's largest military communications satellite, will enable secure and real-time data, video, and voice connectivity between Indian Navy ships, submarines, aircraft, and Maritime Operations Centres, the Navy said. This indigenously built satellite is to be launched by India's largest rocket LVM3 from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 5:26 pm Sunday (2nd Nov).
The 4,400 kg GSAT-7R is India's heaviest military communication satellite and the heaviest satellite that will be launched from home soil. According to the Indian Navy, the satellite carries components that were specifically developed to meet its operational requirements. The satellite is meant to provide telecommunications coverage across the Indian Ocean region and enhance the Navy's space-based communications and maritime domain awareness capabilities.
After liftoff at 5:26 pm on Sunday, the three-stage rocket is expected to complete the mission in about 16 minutes. The satellite will be hurled into a lower initial orbit and then gradually raised into the destined orbit over the next few weeks.
Eventually, all heavy communication satellites are placed in geostationary orbit, which is about 36,000 km above the Earth's equator. From there, the satellite will be able to provide coverage for about one-third of the Earth. In this case, the CMS-03 will be placed above India, so that it can provide coverage in the vast maritime region surrounding India.
The CMS-03/GSAT-7R is a replacement for the ageing GSAT-7 that ISRO built for the Indian Navy in 2013. The 2,650 kg GSAT-7 was launched from overseas aboard Europe's Ariane rocket in August 2013, as ISRO did not possess the capability to lift such a heavy satellite at the time. Therefore, ISRO paid the European firm to ferry the Indian satellite to space.
