ISRO’s Next Big Leap: 6,500-kg US Satellite Launch Set for Next Two Months from Indian Soil

Chennai: India’s space journey, which began in 1963 with a tiny US-supplied rocket, is set to script another milestone. Within the next two months, ISRO will launch a massive 6,500-kg communication satellite built in the United States—using an Indian rocket from Indian soil.

“This is remarkable growth for a country that once received a small rocket from America,” ISRO Chairman and Department of Space Secretary V. Narayanan said on Sunday, speaking at an event near Chennai.

🚨ISRO Set to Launch 6,500 Kg Communication Satellite Built by USA Soon. pic.twitter.com/F58Yi7CkUD

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The upcoming mission will follow the landmark July 30 launch of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission aboard the GSLV-F16. Calling it “a historical day” for Indian space science, Narayanan highlighted that NISAR is the most expensive satellite ever built, combining an L-Band SAR payload from the US and an S-Band payload from ISRO, precisely placed in orbit by India’s launcher. “A NASA team commended ISRO for the precision of that launch,” he said.

Narayanan, who received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan during SRM Institute of Science and Technology’s 21st convocation, recalled ISRO’s humble beginnings. “On November 21, 1963, we got a small rocket from the US. At that time, India was six to seven years behind advanced nations,” he said.

He also recounted the 1975 project in which US-provided satellite data was used to demonstrate mass communication by installing 2,400 television sets across villages in six Indian states.