India To Use Musk-Owned SpaceX Rocket To Launch Communications Satellite

This development marks a key step bolstering India's broadband communication capabilities, especially in remote and underserved areas.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket takes off from Vandenberg SFB during the first launch of 2024 as it launches 21 Starlink satellites, including the first six with Direct to Cell capability to orbit.

Source : Getty

India is set to deploy a communications satellite using SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket, marking its initial collaboration with a venture headed by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is looking to expand his businesses in the country, news agency Reuters reported on Wednesday. Musk-owned SpaceX and ISRO's commercial arm, NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), have joined hands for the launch of GSAT-20, a high-capacity communications satellite. Musk, the mind behind SpaceX and EV maker Tesla, has shown a strong interest in bringing his Starlink satellite broadband service to the Indian market.

This development marks a key step bolstering India's broadband communication capabilities, especially in remote and underserved areas. The joint effort, unveiled on January 3, also represents a noteworthy advancement in India's space capabilities.

NSIL has noted that the satellite's primary objective is strengthening India's broadband infrastructure, addressing connectivity gaps in distant and isolated areas, in an official statement, as per a CNBC report.

The launch is scheduled for the second quarter of this year, NSIL said. The satellite weighs 4,700 kg, which exceeds the current highest spacecraft launching capacity of 4,000 kg of India's space agency ISRO, the Reuters report added.

Meanwhile, Musk-backed SpaceX on Wednesday also sent 21 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit from the Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This launch included the initial six Starlink satellites equipped with "Direct-toCell" capabilities, enabling users to directly link their cell phones to mobile networks without the need for a Starlink terminal.

Starlink made the announcement on X, formerly Twitter: "The six @Starlink satellites on this mission with Direct to Cell capability will further global connectivity and help to eliminate dead zones → http://direct.starlink.com."

The Direct-to-Cell Starlink satellites are equipped with advanced modems functioning as space-based cellphone towers. This innovation holds the potential to eradicate cellphone service dead zones on the ground. Similar to network providers collaborating internationally for global roaming services, there is a possibility for them to partner with Starlink to provide customers with the Direct to Cell service.