Speaking to the media while on the way here for attending the convocation at the Bharathidasan University, Sivan said, GSAT 11, weighing 5.6 tonnes, was the heaviest satellite ever made by India and it would be launched in April or May. It would enable high speed net connectivity to benefit rural India. “Since the launching facility for such a heavy satellite is not available in India, we have sought the support of France,” he said. 

Stating that the ISRO has decided to launch two more satellites in the following month, Sivan said these would be made with the electric propulsion system powered by solar energy that would extend the lifespan of the satellites. Sivan said the ISRO is equipped with launch vehicles and satellite making has been undertaken by the private sector. He said privatisation of satellite making would facilitate more employment opportunities outside the ISRO.

Later, Sivan, who presented the convocation address at the university, said, the future research agenda of ISRO would aim to cut the cost of access to space by making cheaper high-performance launch vehicles and satellites. The ISRO has been working on re-usable launch vehicles employing air breathing engines. “Recently, we successfully conducted flight tests of hypersonic re-usable launch vehicle technology demonstrator as well as air breathing engine technology demonstrator,” he said.

He added that efforts are on at ISRO to improve the payload capacity of existing launch vehicles as well as to reduce their cost. ISRO has reaped the benefits of surpassing investments on space technology, he said, and added that new applications of tele-medicine and tele-education have demonstrated the wider research of space technology. He said India is the fourth country to offer space-based satellite navigation services to the aviation sector.