On Tuesday, SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, successfully launched the GSAT-N2 communication satellite of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from the Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The advanced communication satellite was carried into space aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and SpaceX are collaborating on this launch for the first time in their many commercial partnerships. The chairman and managing director of New Space India Limited, the commercial division of the ISRO, Radhakrishnan Durairaj, said in a conversation with NDTV that the GSAT N2 or GSAT 20 has been placed into a precise orbit. 

The Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre and ISRO's Satellite Centre collaborated to construct the GSAT-N2, a communication satellite. This high-throughput satellite will improve broadband services and offer in-flight connectivity across the country with its 48 Gbps data transfer capabilities. It will expand the communication infrastructure needed for India's Smart Cities Mission by adding data transmission capacity and carrying on the GSAT series of communication satellites. The anticipated operational lifespan of the satellite is 14 years.

"The satellite is equipped with 32 user beams, comprising 8 narrow spot beams over the Northeast region and 24 wide spot beams over the rest of India. These 32 beams will be supported by hub stations located within mainland India. The Ka-Band HTS communication payload provides a throughput of approximately 48 Gbps,” said the Indian space agency. For heavy satellite launches, ISRO collaborated with the  Arianespace, a French commercial launch service provider. Currently, the corporation does not have any operational rockets to launch heavy satellites with big payloads—4,700 kg in the case of the GSAT N2 satellite.

India's launch vehicle, LVM-3, is capable of carrying payloads of up to 4,000 kg. Hence, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket was selected for the satellite launch.