Astronauts Anil Menon and Sophie Adenot successfully completed a spacewalk to install a replacement Ku-band communications antenna on the International Space Station. This critical task, which they had previously attempted, restores communications redundancy for the orbital laboratory. Menon, on his third spacewalk, and Adenot, on her second, were assisted by fellow NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir.
India's advanced multi-band communication satellite GSAT-7, launched from French Guiana by European space consortium Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket on August 30, has been successfully placed in the geosynchronous orbit with an altitude of about 36,000 km above earth's surface.
The GSAT-31 is a 'high power' communication satellite going to serve and replace some of the satellites that are going to expire soon.
A high power satellite, GSAT-15 is being inducted into the INSAT/GSAT system. GSAT-15 carries a total of 24 communication transponders in Ku-band as well as a GPS-Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands.
Arianespace launch vehicle Ariane-5 VA-231, carrying GSAT-18 along with co-passenger Sky Muster II for the Australian operator nbn (National Broadband Network) was scheduled for launch at 2am on Wednesday.
The 3,357-kg satellite, which was deployed from the lower passenger position of Ariane-5 launch vehicle (VA 251) into the geostationary transfer orbit, is configured on ISRO's enhanced I-3K Bus structure to provide communication services from Geostationary orbit in C and Ku bands.
GSAT-18, which aims at providing telecommunications services for the country by strengthening ISRO's current fleet of 14 operational telecom satellites, was launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit about 32 minutes after the lift-off.
ISRO Chairman K Sivan described the GSAT-11 as the "richest space asset" for India.
India's first exclusive defence satellite GSAT-7 was successfully launched by European space consortium Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou spaceport in French Guiana on Friday, giving a major push to the country's maritime security.
The mission life of the 2,250kg GSAT-7A, built by ISRO, is eight years. It will provide communication capability to users in Ku-band over the Indian region.
