The commercial launch provider Arianespace has announced that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has chosen Arianespace to launch its GSAT-17 and GSAT-18 telecommunications satellites. The two satellites will be launched by Ariane 5 launch vehicles at the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
The GSAT-17 and GSAT-18 satellites, designed, assembled and integrated by ISRO, will each weigh around 3,400 kg at launch.
They are planned as replacement satellites for the currently operational satellites providing key national services in multiple frequency bands including C, Extended-C and Ku Bands.
