SpaceX launched its third Falcon 9 rocket in less than 24 hours, bringing all three of its launch pads into play.
Capping off this trio was its second customer mission, this time launching a communications satellite for NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a government-run company and the commercial arm for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
This was the first time SpaceX launched a payload for India. The Geosynchronous SATellite N2 (GSAT-N2) is NSIL’s second so-called Demand-driven satellite.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 1:31 p.m. EST (1831 UTC), the opening of a roughly two-hour window.
Coming into Monday’s launch opportunity, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast a greater than 95 percent chance of favorable weather at liftoff. Cumulus clouds were the only potential watch item for meteorologists.
“High pressure will be just off the coast in the Atlantic by the launch window, bringing mostly clear skies and light onshore winds,” launch weather officers wrote in their forecast on Sunday. “Abundant dry air will exist above the very lowest levels, so there is very little concern for any violations due to clouds.”
The Falcon 9 rocket supporting this mission, tail number B1073 in the SpaceX fleet, launched for a 19th time. It previously supported the launches of ispace’s Hakuto-R lunar lander, CRS-27 and 13 Starlink missions.
Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1073 touched down on the SpaceX droneship, ‘Just Read the Instructions.’ This marked the 98th booster landing for JRTI and the 371st booster landing to date.
Boosting communications
The GSAT-N2 satellite, also referred to as GSAT-20, weighed 4,700 kg (10,362 lbs) at liftoff and is designed to last 14 years in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO).
Monday afternoon’s launch marked the first time that SpaceX launches a payload for ISRO. While India has its own domestic launch capability with its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3), it’s capped at launching a payload of 4,000 kg.
That’s why NSIL announced a contract with SpaceX back on Jan. 2, 2024, for the launch of GSAT-20.
The previous launch of the GSAT system, named GSAT-24 (or GSAT-N1), launched on June 22, 2022, on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana.
Speaking with India-based news outlet NDTV on Nov. 16, Dr. Shri M. Sankaran, the director of of UR Rao Satellite Center and a scientist at ISRO, described the importance of launching this satellite as it is on a Falcon 9.
“When I look at 14 years of life for this particular satellite, we ended up with a mass around 4,700 kg and the current capability of LVM3 is limiting us from being able to launch on LVM3. Maybe the future upgrades of LVM3 such a satellite,” Sankaran said.
When asked by NDTV’s Science Editor Pallava Bagla if NSIL got a good launch deal by using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, Sankaran said he thought they were treated fairly.
“I would say, as far as the commercial launch price for launching this particular satellite is concerned, we are very convinced about the technical compatibility and also the commercial deal,” Sankaran said. “I would say it’s a good commercial deal for launching such a big satellite on SpaceX, which is a Falcon 9.”
He said it would take a couple months to complete the orbital raising maneuvers and conduct operational checkouts.
According to ISRO, this latest satellite, GSAT-20, “is equipped with 32 user beams, comprising 8 narrow spot beams over the Northeast region and 24 wide spot beams over the rest of India. These 32 beams will be supported by hub stations located within mainland India. The Ka-Band HTS communication payload provides a throughput of approximately 48 Gbps.”
“GSAT-N2 is set to enhance broadband services and in-flight connectivity (IFC) across the Indian region,” NSIL said in a statement. “This satellite, featuring multiple spot beams and wideband Ka x Ka transponders, aims to support a large subscriber base with small user terminals, significantly boosting system throughput through its multi-beam architecture which allows frequency reuse.”
The spacecraft uses monomethylhydrazine (MMH) for fuel and a nitric oxide (MON3) as the oxidizer. The power system is based on a 70V satellite bus which has a pair of solar panels for power generation and lithium ion batteries for storage.
The overall body of the spacecraft is build upon what ISRO calls its standard Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP)-based I4K bus, which is “compatible with all major launch vehicles.”
“We see quite a good market potential for this satellite because, as I mentioned, such a heavy satellite with this much of a throughput, this is the first time we are making such a high throughput satellite of this magnitude,” Sankaran told NDTV. “So, I’m confident and optimistic that we should be able to make the best use of the services that the satellite is going to provide to us.”
