- The GSAT-11 is the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) heaviest satellite yet.
- The launch that has been delayed since 2016, might finally happen in June this year.
- ISRO's heaviest satellite yet weighs in at 5,725 kgs.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) just finished testing the GSAT-11, India’s ‘heaviest satellite ever’, and it
passed with flying colors. Tipping the scale to 5,725 kilograms, the GSAT-11 surpasses the previous
heaviest Indian satellite, the
GSAT-17 that weighed in at 3477 kgs.
To put it in perspective, the GSAT-11 weighs
approximately as much as 13 male polar bears or 24 baby grand pianos. Even the the PSLV-C37,
launched on 15 February 2017, with 104 satellites onboard, only weighed 1378 kgs cumulatively.
India’s heaviest satellite was
originally scheduled to be launched by the fourth quarter of 2016. After a series of delays, the GSAT-11 was finally shipped off to South America for its launch scheduled for May 25, 2018. Alas, that didn’t work out either and the satellite was
shipped back for a series of ‘
technical checks’.
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It’s not surprising that ISRO is cautious about this launch after
losing contact with the GSAT-6A. That was India’s largest communications satellite and ISRO lost contact with it three days later, on April 1.
Setting global standards
The entire cost of the GSAT-11 is pegged at around ₹5 billion. That being said, the large satellite has solar panels as big as an average room, as well as 40 transponders that can transfer information at the speed of 14 gigabits per second (gbps).
The GSAT-11 isn’t too far from breaking the record for being the heaviest satellite to launch globally. In comparison, the
TerreStar 1, the heaviest and most powerful satellite ever launched, weighs 6910 kgs.
The article header image is of the GSLV-F08 liftoff.