GSAT-29 is a high-throughput communication satellite developed by the

Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman o ...

(ISRO). The mission aims at providing high-speed bandwidth to Village Resource Centres (VRC) in rural areas. The two Ku and Ka operational payloads will provide communication services to

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

and

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

under Digital India programme. At the time of launch GSAT-29 was the heaviest satellite, weighing , that was placed in orbit by an Indian launch vehicle.The third and final orbit raising operation of GSAT-29
ISRO 17 November 2018 Approved cost of GSAT-29 is .

Payloads

Apart from its main communication payload in Ka/ Ku bands, GSAT-29 hosts few experimental payloads to mature their technology for use in future spacecraft. *

Q band The Q band is a range of frequencies contained in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Common usage places this range between 33 and 50 GHz, but may vary depending on the source using the term. The foregoing range corresponds ...

and V band payload: experimental microwave communication payloads * Optical Communication Technology (OCT) payload: experimental payload for

optical communication Optical communication, also known as optical telecommunication, is communication at a distance using light to carry information. It can be performed visually or by using electronic devices. The earliest basic forms of optical communication date ...

. *GEO imaging High Resolution Camera (GHRC): for high resolution imaging from

geosynchronous orbit A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbita ...

. It has 55 meter resolution and can image in six

VNIR The visible and near-infrared (VNIR) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum has wavelengths between approximately 400 and 1100 nanometers (nm). It combines the full visible spectrum with an adjacent portion of the infrared spectrum up to the ...

spectral bands at ~0.6 sec/frame.

Launch

The satellite was launched on 14 November 2018 through the second developmental flight of

GSLV Mk III The Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM 3), previously referred to as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk3), is a three-stage medium-lift launch vehicle developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Primarily desi ...

, that placed the GSAT-29 satellite into its planned

geosynchronous transfer orbit A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a type of geocentric orbit. Satellites that are destined for geosynchronous (GSO) or geostationary orbit (GEO) are (almost) always put into a GTO as an intermediate step f ...

(GTO) over the equator. It joins the Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) fleet in geostationary orbit.

References

{{Orbital launches in 2018 GSAT satellites Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Spacecraft launched by GSLV rockets Spacecraft launched by India in 2018