ISRO all set to collaborate with Elon Musk; SpaceX’s Falcon-9 to take GSAT-20 satellite to Space

India's communications satellite-- relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder--will be launched with the help of SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket later this year as ISRO has decided to collaborate with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

New Delhi: Indian Space Research Organisation has now decided to collaborate with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. India will launch a communications satellite using SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket later this year.

It will be India’s first partnership with Elon Musk’s SpaceX as he wants to expand his other businesses in the country. The launch is scheduled for the second quarter of 2024, ISRO’s commercial arm NewSpace India Ltd announced. The GSAT-20 satellite weighs 4,700 kg, which exceeds the current highest spacecraft launching capacity of 4,000 kg of ISRO. NSIL said it will fully own, operate and fund the GSAT-20 high-throughput satellite, offering a capacity of 48 gigabits per second.

Musk, who is the chief executive of SpaceX and Tesla, is keen to bring his Starlink satellite broadband to India. He is also discussing an investment proposal for Tesla to set up a factory there to make electric vehicles.