GSAT-7A: ISRO Mission for Indian Air Force -

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2018 is proved as one of the best year for Indian Space Research Organizaton (ISRO). From “31 satellites in one go” to “The Heaviest Satellite of India”, ISRO has developed a lot of satellites for India and also for other countries. The latest in the list is GSAT-7A, also known by the name “Angry Bird” is a 2250 Kg communication satellite launched by GSLV-F11. GSLV-F11 is the 13th flight of india’s GSLV and the 7th flight of GSLV with Indigenous Cryo stage. GSAT-7A was launched on Wednesday, December 19, 2018 from Second Launch Pad(SLP) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

Also Read: List Of All ISRO Missions in 2018

GSAT-7A is a communication satellite developed to help Indian Air Force. This satellite will allow Indian Air Force to interlink it’s various ground radar station, airbases and Airborne Warning and Control System(AWACS) aircraft which will enhance the Network-centric warfare capabilities of the Indian Air Force. Mission life of GSAT-7A is said to be 8 years. GSAT-7A will also be used by the Indian Army’s Aviation Corps for UAV’s operations. For your Information, India is in the process of acquiring American Armed Predator-B or Sea Guardian Drones hence GSAT-7A will help Indian Air Force to boost UAV drone Operations.

Launched in Geostationary Orbit

GSAT-7A is launched in the geostationary orbit. A satellite launched in geostationary orbit follows the same speed as the rotation of Earth. This means a satellite launched above India in Geostationary orbit will always stay above India. Geostationary orbit is 35,000 ft. above Earth surface.

More Satellites for Indian Defence Forces

GSAT-7A is not the first satellite that ISRO developed for Indian Defence Forces. At the time of writing this article, ISRO has developed and launched 14 satellites for Indian Defence Forces. Previously, GSAT-7 also known by the name “Rukmini” was launched on September 29, 2013 for the Indian Navy. GSAT-7 is helping Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean region. GSAT-7C, another communication satellite is in the manufacturing process and will be launched in the coming years and this is again for the Indian Air Force.

How many Military satellites are in the space?

At the time of writing this article, so far 320 military satellites are known to be orbiting our planet Earth. These satellites belong to different countries but most number of satellites are said to be of United States. United States own around half the number of total satellites orbiting Earth followed by Russia and China. In this list, India has total 14 satellites and this number soon to be reached 20.

Types of Satellites

Satellites are of two types: Communication and Remote Sensing. Communication Satellites are heavy and weigh more than 1750 Kg. All the satellites weighing more than 1750 kg are launched by Geosynchronous Satellite Launch vehicle (GSLV). Remote Sensing Satellites weigh less than 1750 Kg and satellites that weigh less than 1750 Kg are launched by Polar Satellite Launch vehicle(PSLV). PSLV is a four-staged launch vehicle with first & third stages using solid rocket motors and second & forth stages using liquid rocket engines. GSLV on the other hand is a three-staged launch vehicle.