Article Posted on : - Jul 29, 2013

The Ariane 5 rocket. An Arianespace photo

KOUROU (BNS): After successfully orbiting the INSAT-3D satellite last week, European space consortium Arianespace is gearing up to launch another Indian satellite next month.

Carrying out its fourth mission this year, the Ariane 5 heavy-lift rocket will launch India's GSAT-7 telecommunications satellite along with Qatar's Eutelsat 25B/Es'hail-1 satellite on August 29, according to Arianespace.

The multi-band satellite, built by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has begun its checkout at the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana to confirm its readiness with payloads in the Ultra High Frequency (UHF), S-band, C-band and Ku-bands, it said.

The GSAT-7 will have a liftoff mass of around 2,550 kg and power handling capability at 3,000 Watts.

Joining the Indian satellite in the Ariane 5 mission will be EUTELSAT 25B/Es'hail 1, built by SSL for Eutelsat and Es'hailSat -- The Qatar Satellite Company.

The telecommunications satellite, with a liftoff mass of over 6,000 kg, has been designed to provide direct broadcast services to expanding markets in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia regions.