SAARC Satellite set to take off on May 5
In what is believed to be a masterstroke, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-year-old promise of a satellite for SAARC nations will be fulfilled on Friday. The South Asia satellite (SAS) that is being built by India will be launched on May 5 from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
This satellite will be used by countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region. The countries include Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan.
The total cost of launching the satellite is estimated to be about Rs 235 crore. The 2,230 kg satellite was built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and has 12 Ku-band transponders (devices for forming a communication channel with radio signals).
Although the satellite is intended to serve the SAARC region, Pakistan has opted out of the program, while Afghanistan has not pledged their commitment. Pakistan maintains its own active space programme under its Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).
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The South Asia Satellite is a proposed geosynchronous communications and meteorology satellite by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAS) region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi mooted the idea of a satellite serving the needs of SAARC member nations, part of his Neighbourhood first policy during the 18th SAARC summit held in Nepal in 2014.
List of SAARC nations who will be a part of the South Asia Satellite project:
• Nepal
• Bhutan
• Maldives
• Bangladesh
• Sri Lanka
• Afghanistan
• India
The South Asian Satellite is part of Modi’s ‘Neighborhood First’ policy focusing on India’s South Asian neighbours. After being sworn in as the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi in June 2014 asked ISRO to develop the SAARC satellite, which can be dedicated as a ‘gift’ to the neighbours. Modi asked the scientists to work on a satellite that would provide a full range of applications and services to all of India’s neighbours. He had said that there is a lot of poverty in the SAARC nations and we need scientific solutions for this.
About the SAARC satellite:
1. The launching of the SAARC satellite was announced by Modi during the 2014 SAARC summit in Nepal.
2. All SAARC countries have since joined it except Pakistan. Pakistan maintains its own active space programme under its Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).
3. The SAARC satellite is cuboid in shape and is built around a central cylinder. It has a mission life of over 12 years.
4. The satellite enables a full range of applications and services in the areas of telecommunication and broadcasting applications viz television (TV), direct-to-home (DTH), very small aperture terminals (VSATs), tele-education, tele-medicine and disaster management support.
5. The total cost of launching the satellite is estimated to be about Rs 235 crore and all the cost associated with the launch will be met by the Government of India.
6. The 2,230 kg communication satellite was built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and has 12 Ku-band transponders. (devices for forming a communication channel with radio signals).
7. The nearly 50-m-tall rocket that weighs about 412 tonnes will carry what is now termed as the South Asia Satellite or GSAT-9.
8. The satellite will be launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota using a Geostationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk-II launch vehicle.
9. GSLV has been used in ten launches to date. Its first launch in 2001 through to its most recent launch on September 8, 2016 of the INSAT-3DR.
10. The satellite is also its fourth consecutive flight with the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) engine.
Why did Pakistan opt out from the SAARC Satellite project?
India’s neighbouring nation Pakistan, decided to ‘opt out’ of the proposed SAARC satellite suggesting that it had its “own space programme” at the planning meeting on June 22, 2015. Pakistan maintains its own active space programme under its Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). The nation has five satellites but they lack heavy duty launchers and satellite fabrication facilities.
India, on the other hand, has an active space programme dating back to 1965. In 1975, the country became the first South Asian nation to launch a satellite. India is the only nation in South Asia to have successfully launched and operated satellites in space while other South Asian nations have struggled and lacked in such progress.
In his recent radio address Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister had said that his slogan ‘sabka saath sabka vikas‘ extended outside the country. He said the satellite would address the region’s economic and development priorities.
The Prime Minister had said that this satellite will prove to be a boon in the progress of the entire region. He mentioned that it is an important step by India to enhance co-operation with the entire South Asia… it is an invaluable gift and an appropriate example of our commitment towards South Asia.
Source: India.com
