India's 'priceless gift' to take off soon; ambitious South Asia Satellite set for May 5 launch


India's 'priceless gift' the South Asia Satellite will be launched on May 5, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced today.



New Delhi: India's 'priceless gift' the South Asia Satellite will be launched on May 5, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced today. Pakistan refused to join hands in this project which features seven out of eight SAARC countries.

"We have always attempted to move ahead with the concept of 'sabka sath, sabka vikas (cooperation of all, development for all)," Modi said in his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'.

The concept of 'sabka sath, sabka vikas' is not confined to India but is relevant globally too, especially in the context of the neighbourhood, he said.
"There should be cooperation of our neighbours and there should be development of our neighbours too," he said.

"On May 5, India will launch the South Asia Satellite. The benefits of this satellite will go a long way in meeting the developmental needs of the countries participating in this project," the prime minister said.

Describing it as a "priceless gift" from India, he said the project is a significant step towards promoting cooperation with the entire South Asia.

"This is an appropriate example of our commitment towards South Asia...The satellite of South Asia will help in the overall development of the entire region," Modi said.

The benefits will be in the areas of mapping of natural resources, tele-medicine, education, IT connectivity and people-to-people links, he said.

He thanked the countries which became part of this project. These countries, besides India, are Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Afghanistan.

Soon after taking over as the Prime Minister in 2014, Modi had made a unilateral proposal of India launching the satellite whose data would be shared with the eight SAARC countries for their development.

The satellite was initially proposed to be launched in December last year but it got delayed.
South Asia SatelliteSouth Asia Satellite launchISROIndia's 'priceless gift'satellite launchIndian space agencySpace newsMay 5May 5 satellite launch


New Delhi: Preparations for the launch of the South Asia Communication Satellite, GSAT-9 are in full swing as India's 'priceless gift' is set for the launch tomorrow, sai ISRO chairman A S Kiran.

The Geostationary Communication Satellite built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will blast off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, about 100 kms from here.

Seven out of the eight SAARC countries are a part of the project, as Pakistan decided to opt out stating "it has its own space programme."
The satellite will be launched on board the space agency's rocket GSLV-F09. Costing around Rs 235 crore, the satellite would serve the neighbouring countries through 12 Ku band transponders carried by it and has a mission life of 12 years.

The satellite is meant for providing communication and disaster support, connectivity among the countries of South Asia region.

It will provide a significant capability to each of the participating countries in terms of DTH, certain VSAT capacity plus linking among the states for disaster information transfer.

"We have the launch tomorrow in the evening... All activities are going on smoothly," Kumar told reporters at the airport here.

After coming to power in May 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked ISRO scientists to develop a SAARC satellite that can be dedicated to neighbouring countries as a "gift from India."

On his 'Mann ki baat' programme on Sunday last, Modi had announced that the South Asia Satellite would be India's "priceless gift" to its neighbouring countries.


Comments