New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has recalled its heaviest communication satellite from French Guiana, Arianespace said in a statement on Tuesday.
The 5.7-ton satellite was considered to be the last Indian satellite which was to be launched by a foreign rocket as Indian space scientists have claimed to have developed the capability to launch communication satellites weighing up to six tons.
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"Due to additional technical checks with the Indian Space Research Organization's GSAT-11 satellite, to be conducted from the ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) located at Bangalore, the Ariane 5 launch initially planned for May 25, 2018, VA243, has been postponed," Arianespace said in a statement on Tuesday.
Earlier this year, ISRO received major setback when it lost communication with its GSAT-6A satellite soon after its launch from an Indian rocket on March 29. However, ISRO claimed that it has found the location of the satellite and is trying to connect with it.
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Meanwhile, another communication satellite of the ISRO — the GSAT-29 — is at the advanced stage of realization and is configured around the ISRO's Enhanced I-3K Bus. The satellite will be the payload for the second developmental flight of the homegrown GSLV-MkIII. It carries Ka x Ku multi-beam and optical communication payloads, the first of its kind. Four more satellites (GSAT-20, GSAT-22, GSAT-23 & GSAT-24) are in different stages of realization.
