ISRO to launch French satellite
April 3rd, 2012 - 6:04 pm ICT by IANS
Chennai, April 3 (IANS) India will launch an advanced French remote sensing satellite, SPOT 6, with its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket later this year, a statement said Tuesday.
“A commercial Launch Services Agreement between Antrix Corporation Limited (Antrix), the commercial arm of ISRO, and Astrium SAS, a company under EADS, France, has been signed recently,”
said the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the statement
Under the agreement, SPOT 6, weighing nearly 800 kg amd built by Astrium SAS, will be launched on-board PSLV during the second half of 2012.
“Along with SPOT 6 satellite, the PSLV, in its ‘core alone’ configuration, will also carry other co-passenger payloads,” ISRO said.
The agreement between ANTRIX and Astrium is a part of the long term pact signed between the two agencies in September 2008.
In November 2010, an advanced communication satellite, HYLAS, was successfully built by ISRO and Astrium together for an European customer under a commercial contract between the two agencies.
In the coming days, further collaboration possibilities between Antrix/ISRO and Astrium would be explored, the Indian space agency added.
Meanwhile, INSAT-2E the last of the INSAT-2 series of communication satellites of ISRO completed its 13-year mission life, said ISRO.
According to ISRO the satellite was built with a planned mission life of 12 years.
- ISRO to score 100 with a cooperative mission Sep 9 - Aug 27, 2012
- Countdown begins for India's 100th space mission - Sep 08, 2012
- Count down for 100th Indian rocket launch begins Friday morning - Sep 06, 2012
- Countdown begins for 100th Indian rocket mission - Sep 07, 2012
- India to ferry heaviest foreign satellite in August - Apr 29, 2012
- India to launch three satellites next month - Aug 03, 2012
- Manmohan watches as 100th Indian space mission blasts off (Lead) - Sep 09, 2012
- ISRO-built communications satellite for Europe launched - Nov 27, 2010
- India to launch two foreign satellites mid Sept - Aug 22, 2012
- Indian space agency scores a ton, ready for more (Third Lead) - Sep 09, 2012
- India: From ferrying rockets on cycles to eyeing Mars - Sep 08, 2012
- Indian space agency scores a perfect 100! (Second Lead) - Sep 09, 2012
- India's space odyssey: A timeline (To go with ISRO's 100th mission story) - Sep 09, 2012
- A year of satisfactory space missions (2011 in Retrospect) (With images) - Dec 26, 2011
- Indian-made European satellite in geostationary orbit - Nov 30, 2010
Tags: astrium sas, collaboration possibilities, commercial arm, commercial contract, communication satellite, communication satellites, eads, french satellite, hylas, indian space research, indian space research organisation, isro, launch services, launch vehicle, payloads, polar satellite, pslv, remote sensing satellite, satellite spot, space agency