India's GSAT-24 placed in orbit by Arianespace's Ariane 5 Flight VA257

New Delhi, June 23, 2022

India's communication satellite GSAT-24 was placed in orbit by European space agency Arianespace's workhorse Ariane 5 Flight VA 257 which took off from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou in French Guiana in the early hours of Thursday, Indian time.

Flight VA 257 took off at 6.50 pm local time on Wednesday (3.20 am IST on Thursday), an Arianespace press release said.

Apart from GSAT-24, the dual-payload mission had MEASAT-3d of Malaysia as its other passenger, also a telecommunication satellite.

“With this Ariane 5 mission, Arianespace is honored to support the ambitions of two key actors in the Asia-Pacific region: MEASAT, the leading Malaysian satellite operator and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Government of India company within the Department of Space (DOS) acting in concert with the Indian Space Agency ISRO," a press release from Arianespace said.

"With the orbiting of both MEASAT-3d, the fourth satellite that we’ve launched for the benefit of Malaysia, and GSAT-24, the 25th Indian satellite we’ve delivered for them, we are affirming our long term partnership with these two great actors,” Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, said.

GSAT-24 is a Ku-band 4-ton class communications satellite built by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) that will provide high-quality television, telecommunications and broadcasting services across India. It will be the first “Demand- Driven” communications satellite mission undertaken by NSIL, the release said.

“After the successful launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, this new achievement helps Ariane 5 write a new chapter in space history," said André-Hubert Roussel, CEO of ArianeGroup. “Ariane 5 demonstrates its reliability once again, justifying the trust of Arianespace’s customers worldwide. Its successes are tied to Ariane 6, which benefits from the same reliability along with increased competitiveness and versatility.”

The Ariane 5 heavy-lift launcher is an ESA programme carried out in cooperation between public institutions and industry across 12 European partner states.

ArianeGroup is the lead contractor for the development and production of Ariane 5, and is responsible for campaign operations and preparation of the launch vehicle up to lift-off. ArianGroup hands over a “ready to fly” rocket to its subsidiary Arianespace, which sells the Ariane 5 and operates it from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. During launch campaigns, Arianespace works closely with CNES, who is the design authority for the Ariane 5 and controls the satellite preparation facilities at the CSG.

After this launch, four Ariane 5 vehicles remain before the Ariane 6 takes up the baton, supporting Europe’s institutional missions, while meeting the growing needs of the commercial market.

IANS adds:

GSAT-24 built by ISRO is a 24-Ku band communication satellite weighing 4,181 kg with pan India coverage for meeting direct-to-home (DTH) application needs.

GSAT-24 has a life span of 15 years. The NSIL has leased the entire satellite capacity to Tata Play.

For NSIL, the GSAT-24 is its first demand-riven mission post space reforms in India.

NNN