| Manufacturer | ISRO |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Applications | Communications |
| Orbits | Geostationary orbit |
| Operator | INSAT |
| Status | In service |
| Built | 27 |
| Orders | 6 |
| Launched | 27 |
| Operational | 20 |
| Retired | 3 |
| Failed | 3 |
| Lost | 1 |
| First | GSAT-1 (GramSat-1) 18 April 2001 |
| Last | GSAT-7R (CMS-03) 2 November 2025 |
The GSAT (Geosynchronous Satellite)[1] series is a family of Indian communications satellites, indigenously developed and operated by the ISRO. The prorgamme was initiated in the early 2000s to create indigenous, multi-purpose, geostationary spacecrafts capable of supporting India's growing needs in telecommunications, broadcasting, broadband, emergency management, reconnaissance and navigation. The programme was supported by the development of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle.
GSAT satellites include a total of 168 transponders (out of which 95 are leased out to provide services to broadcasters), and operate primarily in C, Extended C, Ku, Ka, S and L bands, with payload configurations tailored for civilian, commercial, and strategic needs. The development of both GSAT satellites and the GSLV launch system represents India's transition from dependence on foreign-built INSAT spacecraft to self-reliant national communications capability. As of 21 November 2025, 27 GSAT satellites manufactured by ISRO have been launched, out of which 20 are in service and six more being planned.
History
The GSAT programme began as part of ISRO's efforts to supplement the aging Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) fleet and reduce reliance on leased transponders from foreign satellites. Early missions of GSAT-1 (2001) and GSAT-2 (2003) were launched to test indigenous bus designs, power systems and communication payloads.
Between 2004 and 2020, ISRO launchd numerous GSAT satellites with varied roles including direct-to-home broadcasting support, tele-education and tele-medicine, high-throughput broadband, navigation augmentation for aviation, dedicated military communication.
Recent missions focus on high-bandwidth Ka band systems, secure strategic communication and navigation augmentation under GPS-aided GEO augmented navigation (GAGAN). Several satellites use advanced I-2K, I-3K and 1-6K satellite bus platforms designed for long life and high payload capacity.
Launched
The following is a list of launched GSAT satellites and their status. As of 2025, there were 27 GSAT launches with 20 of them being operational.
| GSAT series | INSAT Series | Other name(s) | COSPAR ID | Launch date and time, UTC | Launch vehicle | Lift-off mass | Orbital parameters | Outcome | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longitude | Inclination | |||||||||
| GSAT-1 | rowspan=2 scope="row" | GramSat-1[2] | 2001-015A | 18 April 2001, 10:13:00 | GSLV Mk-I D2 | 1,540 kg (3,400 lb) | 76.85° West (2006–2009) [a] | 0.9° | Experimental | |
| Launch placed it into lower than planned orbit, which prevented it from fulfilling its primary communications mission. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-2 | rowspan=2 scope="row" | GramSat-2[3] | 2003-018A | 8 May 2003, 11:28:00 | GSLV Mk-I D3 | 1,825 kg (4,023 lb) | 47.95° East | 2.43° | Experimental | |
| Second experimental attempt. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-3 | rowspan=2 scope="row" | EduSat | 2004-036A | 20 September 2004, 10:31:00 | GSLV Mk-I F01 | 1,950 kg (4,300 lb) | 74° East | 2.71° | Educational | |
| Mainly intended to meet the demand for an interactive satellite-based distance education system for the country. Decommissioned on 30 September 2010 after six years of operation. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-4 | rowspan=2 scope="row" | HealthSat | 15 April 2010, 10:57:00 | GSLV Mk-II D3 | 2,220 kg (4,890 lb) | 82° East | Communication and Navigation | |||
| Failed to reach orbit due to malfunction of the Fuel Booster Turbo Pump (FBTP) of the cryogenic upper stage. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-5P | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 25 December 2010, 10:34:00 | GSLV Mk-I F06 | 2,310 kg (5,090 lb) | 55° East | Replacement of INSAT-3E | ||||
| Rebuilt from GSAT-5 (INSAT-4D)[4] Vehicle was destroyed by range safety officer after loss of control over liquid-fueled boosters. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-6 | INSAT-4E | rowspan=2 scope="row" | 2015-041A | 27 August 2015, 11:22:00 | GSLV Mk-II D6 | 2,132 kg (4,700 lb) | 83° East | 1.4° | Multimedia | |
| A multimedia mobile satellite system; offers a Satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (S-DMB) service, via mobile phones and mobile video/audio receivers for vehicles; can also be utilized for strategic and social applications. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-6A | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2018-027A | 29 March 2018, 11:26:00 | GSLV Mk-II F08 | 2,140 kg (4,720 lb) | 83° East | 2.8° | Communication | ||
| Communication with the satellite was lost after the second orbit raising manoeuvre. Efforts are on to re-establish link but at this point it remains incommunicado.[5] | ||||||||||
| GSAT-7 | INSAT-4F[6] | Rukmini | 2013-044B | 29 August 2013, 20:30:00 | Ariane 5 ECA VA-215 | 2,650 kg (5,840 lb) | 74° East | 0.06° | Military | |
| According to defense experts, it was built to enable the Indian Navy to acquire blue water capabilities and remove dependence on foreign satellites like Inmarsat, which provide communication services to its ships. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-7A | rowspan=2 scope="row" | Angry Bird | 2018-105A | 19 December 2018, 10:40:00 | GSLV Mk-II F11 | 2,250 kg (4,960 lb) | 63° East | 0.0° | Military | |
| Advanced military communications satellite meant exclusively for the Indian Air Force. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-7R | rowspan=2 scope="row" | CMS-03 | 2025-249B | 2 November 2025, 11:56:00 | LVM3 M5 | 4,410 kg (9,720 lb) | 93.5° East | 0.2° | Military | |
| Replacement for GSAT-7 Rukmini for Indian Navy.[7] | ||||||||||
| GSAT-8 | INSAT-4G | GramSat-8[8] | 2011-022A | 20 May 2011, 20:38:00 | Ariane 5 ECA VA-202 | 3,093 kg (6,819 lb) | 55° East | 1.6° | Navigation | |
| To augment the capacity in the INSAT system; the GAGAN payload provides the Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS), through which the accuracy of the positioning information obtained from the IRNSS (NAVIC) satellites is improved by a network of ground-based receivers and made available to users in the country through the geostationary satellites. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-9 | rowspan=2 scope="row" | South Asia Satellite | 2017-024A | 5 May 2017, 11:27:00 | GSLV MK-II F09 | 2,330 kg (5,140 lb) | 48° East | 0.0413° | Navigation | |
| Carried GAGAN navigation payload, a regional IRNSS (NAVIC) navigational system developed by India, that provides navigational services to the security forces and air traffic control organizations. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-10 | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2012-051B | 29 September 2012 | Ariane 5 ECA VA-209 | 3,435 kg (7,573 lb) | 83° East | 0.1° | Navigation | ||
| To augment telecommunication, direct-to-home and radio navigation services.[9] | ||||||||||
| GSAT-11 | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2018-100B | 4 December 2018, 20:37:00 | Ariane 5 ECA VA-246 | 5,854 kg (12,906 lb) | 74° East | 0.0° | Telecom | ||
| Aimed at providing advanced telecom and direct-to-home services in the country. Heaviest satellite built by India at the time. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-12 | rowspan=2 scope="row" | GramSat-12[10] | 2018-100B | 4 December 2018 | Ariane 5 ECA VA-246 | 5,854 kg (12,906 lb) | 74° East | 0.0° | Multipurpose | |
| Replacement of the INSAT-3B; provided services like tele-education, telemedicine, disaster management support and satellite internet access. Only GSAT satellite to be launched by PSLV. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-12R | rowspan=2 scope="row" | CMS-01 | 2020-099A | 17 December 2020, 11:18:00 | PSLV-XL C50 | 1,425 kg (3,142 lb) | 83° East | 0.1° | Multipurpose | |
| Replacement of GSAT-12. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-14 | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2014-001A | 5 January 2014, 10:48:00 | GSLV Mk-II D5 | 1,982 kg (4,370 lb) | 75° East | 0.1° | Communications | ||
| Replacement of GSAT-3. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-15 | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2015-065A | 10 November 2015, 21:34:07 | Ariane 5 ECA VA-227 | 3,100 kg (6,800 lb) | 93.5° East | 0.0728° | Communications | ||
| Similar to GSAT-10 satellite; to augment the capacity of transponders to provide more bandwidth for direct-to-home television and VSAT services. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-16 | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2014-078A | 6 December 2014, 20:40:00 | Ariane 5 ECA VA-221[11] | 3,150 kg (6,940 lb) | 55° East | 0.0° | Communications | ||
| The communication payloads provide a combination of total 48 transponders across the three frequency bands (24 in Normal C band, 12 in Extended-C band and 12 in Ku-band) along with a Ku-band beacon transmitter, which is the highest for an Indian satellite. The spacecraft will be co-located with GSAT-8 at 55° East. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-17 | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2017-040B | 28 June 2017, 21:15:00 | Ariane 5 ECA VA-238 | 3,477 kg (7,665 lb) | 93.5° East | 0.0° | Communications | ||
| Payload includes 24 C-band, 2 lower C-band, 12 upper C-band, 2 CxS (C-band up/S-band down), and 1 SxC (S-band up/C-band down) transponders as well as a dedicated transponder for data relay (DRT) and search-and-rescue (SAR) services.[12] | ||||||||||
| GSAT-18 | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2016-060A | 5 October 2016, 20:30:00 | Ariane 5 ECA VA-231 | 3,404 kg (7,505 lb) | 74° East | 0.1° | Communications | ||
| To provide services in Normal C-band, Upper Extended C-band and Ku bands of the frequency spectrum.[13] | ||||||||||
| GSAT-19 | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2017-031A | 5 June 2017, 11:58:00 | LVM3 D1 | 3,136 kg (6,914 lb) | 48° East | 0.101° | Communications | ||
| Rather than traditional transponders, GSAT-19 carries four Ku/Ka-band forward link beams and four Ku/Ka-band return link beams, providing much higher data throughput than India's previous communications satellites.[14] | ||||||||||
| GSAT-20 | rowspan=2 scope="row" | GSAT-N2[15] | 2024-214A | 18 November 2024, 18:30:00 | Falcon 9 Block 5 F9-398 | 5,300 kg (11,700 lb) | 55° East | 0.101° | Communications | |
| Entire capacity of the satellite leased to Dish TV.[16][17] | ||||||||||
| GSAT-24 | rowspan=2 scope="row" | GSAT-N1 | 2022-067A | 22 June 2022, 21:50:00 | Ariane 5 ECA VA-257 | 4,181 kg (9,218 lb) | 48° East | TBD | Communications | |
| The entire capacity onboard GSAT-N1 satellite would be leased to Tata Play. | ||||||||||
| GSAT-29 | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2018-089A | 14 November 2018, 11:38:00 | LVM3 D2 | 3,423 kg (7,546 lb) | 55° East | 0.0° | Communications | ||
| The mission aims at providing high-speed bandwidth to Village Resource Centres (VRC) in rural areas.[18] | ||||||||||
| GSAT-30 | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2020-005A | 17 January 2020, 21:05:00 | Ariane 5 ECA VA-251 | 3,547 kg (7,820 lb) | 83° East | 0.0° | Communications | ||
| Replacement satellite for INSAT-4A.[19] | ||||||||||
| GSAT-31 | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2019-007B | 6 February 2019 | Ariane 5 ECA VA-251 | 2,536 kg (5,591 lb) | 48° East | 0.1° | Telecom | ||
| This is the 40th communication satellite launched by ISRO.[20] | ||||||||||
Planned
The following is a list of six planned GSAT launches.
| GSAT series | INSAT Series | Other name(s) | Launch date | Launch vehicle | Lift-off mass | Status | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSAT-7B | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2020s | GSLV Mk-II | TBD | Military | ||
| Military communication satellite for Indian Army.[21] | |||||||
| GSAT-7C | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2020s | GSLV Mk-II | TBD | Military | ||
| Military communication satellite for Indian Air Force.[22] | |||||||
| GSAT-7S | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2020s | GSLV Mk-II | TBD | Military | ||
| Military communication satellite for Indian Air Force[citation needed] | |||||||
| GSAT-22 | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2020s | LVM3 | TBD | Communication | ||
| Communication satellite.[23] | |||||||
| GSAT-23 | rowspan=2 colspan=2 scope="row" | 2020s | LVM3 | TBD | TBD | ||
| [23] | |||||||
| GSAT-32 | rowspan=2 scope="row" | GSAT-N3 | Q2 2026 | LVM3 | 4,500 kg (9,900 lb) | Communication | |
| Replacement of GSAT-6A.[23] | |||||||
Statistics
Launches by country
| Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | |||||
See also
- List of Indian satellites
- Indian National Satellite System (INSAT)
- Indian Remote Sensing Programme (IRSP)
- Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)
References
- Notes
- ^ Previously: 73° West (2000) and 99° West (2000–2006)
- References
- ^ "ISRO GeoStationary Satellites". isro.org. Archived from the original on 11 February 2014.
- ^ "GSAT 1". NASA. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "GSAT 2". NASA. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "GSat 5 (Insat 4D)". Gunter's Space Page. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ "The second orbit raising operation of GSAT-6A satellite has been successfully carried out by LAM Engine firing for about 53 minutes on March 31, 2018 in the morning. - ISRO". Archived from the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
- ^ "GSAT 7". NASA. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ Pubby, Manu (18 July 2019). "Navy to buy Rs 1,589 crore satellite from ISRO". Economic Times. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
- ^ "GSAT 8". NASA. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "GSAT 10". NASA. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "GSAT 12". NASA. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "Ariane 5 delivers DIRECTV-14 and GSAT-16 to orbit on Arianespace's latest mission success". Archived from the original on 11 December 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- ^ "Annual Report 2015-2016". Indian Space Research Organisation. December 2015. p. 28. Archived from the original on 2016-07-05.
- ^ "GSAT-18 launched successfully on board Ariane-5 from Kourou in French Guiana". 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
- ^ "Now, ISRO successfully puts GSAT-19 satellite in orbit with GSLV Mk-III". The New Indian Express. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ^ "SpaceX launches communications satellite for India". mynews13.com. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
- ^ "SpaceX launches India's GSAT-N2 satellite on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now". Retrieved 2024-11-20.
- ^ "Falcon 9 Block 5 - GSAT-20". Next Spaceflight. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "ISRO successfully launches the GSAT-29 satellite from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota on Wednesday". Bangalore Mirror. Nov 14, 2018. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
- ^ "India's communication satellite GSAT-30 launched successfully". ISRO. Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- ^ "India's 40th Communication Satellite, GSAT-31, Launched". NDTV. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- ^ "Military communication satellite for Indian Army approved". Deccen Herald. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ "Defence ministry clears proposal for GSAT-7C satellite for IAF: A look at other military satellites in India". Firstpost. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
- ^ Kumar, Chethan (5 October 2021). "Space PSU NSIL to launch 4 more demand-driven communication satellites". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 October 2021.