Indian National Satellite System should not be confused with Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System.
The Indian National Satellite System or INSAT, is a series of multipurpose geostationary satellites launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to satisfy telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology, and search and rescue operations. Commissioned in 1983, INSAT is the largest domestic communication system in the Indo-Pacific Region. It is a joint venture of the Department of Space, Department of Telecommunications, India Meteorological Department, All India Radio and Doordarshan. The overall coordination and management of INSAT system rests with the Secretary-level INSAT Coordination Committee.
INSAT satellites provide transponders in various bands to serve the television and communication needs of India. Some of the satellites also have the Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR), CCD cameras for meteorological imaging. The satellites also incorporate transponder(s) for receiving distress alert signals for search and rescue missions in the South Asian and Indian Ocean Region, as ISRO is a member of the Cospas-Sarsat program.
The Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system was commissioned with the launch of INSAT-1B in August 1983 (INSAT-1A, the first satellite was launched in April 1982 but could not fulfil the mission). INSAT system ushered in a revolution in India's television and radio broadcasting, telecommunications and meteorological sectors. It enabled the rapid expansion of TV and modern telecommunication facilities to even the remote areas and off-shore islands. Together, the system provides transponders in C, Extended C and Ku bands for a variety of communication services. Some of the INSATs also carry instruments for meteorological observation and data relay for providing meteorological services. KALPANA-1 is an exclusive meteorological satellite. The satellites are monitored and controlled by Master Control Facilities that exist in Hassan and Bhopal.
This is a total list of INSAT satellites with their outcome.
| Longitude | Date of launch | Launch vehicle | Lift-off mass | Status | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INSAT series | GSAT series | Known as | ||||||||
| INSAT-1A | style="text-align:center;" | - | 74° East | 10 April 1982 |  Delta 3910 / PAM-D | First Satellite in INSAT Series and First Satellite of INSAT-1 Series. | ||||
| INSAT-1B | style="text-align:center;" | - | 74° East (1983-92) 93° East (1992-93) | 30 August 1983 | Space Shuttle / PAM-D | |||||
| INSAT-1C | style="text-align:center;" | - | 93.5° East | 21 July 1988 | ||||||
| INSAT-1D | style="text-align:center;" | - | 83° East | 9 July 1992 | Delta 4925 | |||||
| INSAT-2A | style="text-align:center;" | - | 74° East | 22 July 1993 | Ariane 44L H10 | First Satellite in INSAT-2 Series. | ||||
| INSAT-2B | style="text-align:center;" | - | 93.5° East | 12 June 1990 | Ariane 44L H10+ | |||||
| INSAT-2C | style="text-align:center;" | - | 93.5° East | 6 December 1995 | Ariane 44L H10-3 | |||||
| INSAT-2D | style="text-align:center;" | - | 93.5° East | 3 June 1997 | Ariane 44L H10-3 | |||||
| INSAT-2DT | style="text-align:center;" | - | INSAT-2R | 31° East 55° East 82.5° East | 26 February 1992 | Ariane 44L H10 | ||||
| INSAT-2E | style="text-align:center;" | - | 83° East | 2 April 1999 | Ariane 42P H10-3 | |||||
| INSAT-3A | style="text-align:center;" | - | 93.5° East | 9 April 2003 | First Satellite in INSAT-3 Series. | |||||
| INSAT-3B | style="text-align:center;" | - | 83° East | 21 March 2000 | ||||||
| INSAT-3C | style="text-align:center;" | - | 74° East | 23 January 2002 | Ariane 42L H10-3 | |||||
| INSAT-3D | style="text-align:center;" | - | 82° East | 25 July 2013 | ||||||
| INSAT-3DR | style="text-align:center;" | - | 74° East | 8 September 2016 | ||||||
| INSAT-3DS | style="text-align:center;" | - | 74° East | 17 February 2024 | ||||||
| INSAT-3E | style="text-align:center;" | - | 55° East (2003-2014) | 21 December 2003 | ||||||
| INSAT-4A | style="text-align:center;" | - | 83° East | 27 September 2005 | First Satellite in INSAT-4 Series. | |||||
| INSAT-4B | style="text-align:center;" | - | 85.5° East 83° East 111.2° East 93.48° East | 11 March 2007 | ||||||
| INSAT-4C | style="text-align:center;" | - | style="text-align:right;" nowrap | - | 10 July 2006 | |||||
| INSAT-4CR | style="text-align:center;" | - | 48° East 74° East | 2 September 2007 | Replacement Satellite for INSAT-4C. | |||||
| INSAT-4D | GSAT-5 | style="text-align:right;" nowrap | - | style="text-align:right;" | - |  GSLV Mk I | ||||
| INSAT-4E | GSAT-6 | 83° East | 27 August 2015 | |||||||
| INSAT-4F | GSAT-7 | 74° East | 29 August 2013 | |||||||
| INSAT-4G | GSAT-8 | 55° East | 20 May 2011 | |||||||
Of the 24 satellites launched in the course of the INSAT program, 11 are still in operation.[1]
See main article: INSAT-2E. It is the last of the six five satellites in INSAT-2 series. It carries seventeen C-band and lower extended C-band transponders providing zonal and global coverage with an Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) of 36 dBW. It also carries a Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) with imaging capacity in the visible (0.55–0.75 μm), thermal infrared (10.5–12.5 μm) and water vapour (5.7–7.1 μm) channels and provides 2x2 km, 8x8 km ground resolution respectively. In addition to the above two payloads it has with it a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) camera providing 1x1 km ground resolution in the Visible (0.63–0.69 μm), Near Infrared (0.77–0.86 μm) and Shortwave Infrared (1.55–1.70 μm) bands.[2]
See main article: INSAT-3A. The multipurpose satellite, INSAT-3A, was launched by Ariane in April 2003. It is located at 93.5 degree East longitude. The payloads on INSAT-3A are as follows:
See main article: INSAT-3C. Launched in January 2002, INSAT-3C is positioned at 74 degree East longitude. INSAT-3C payloads include 24 Normal C-band transponders providing an EIRP of 37 dBW, six Extended C-band transponders with EIRP of 37 dBW, two S-band transponders to provide BSS services with 42 dBW EIRP and an MSS payload similar to that on INSAT-3B. All the transponders provide coverage over India.[4]
See main article: INSAT-3D. Launched in July 2013, INSAT-3D is positioned at 82 Degree East longitude. INSAT-3D payloads include Imager, Sounder, Data Relay Transponder and Search & Rescue Transponder. All the transponders provide coverage over large part of the Indian Oceanregion covering India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Tanzania for rendering distress alert services.[5]
See main article: INSAT-3DR.
INSAT-3DR is a weather satellite meant to provide meteorological services to India using a 6-channel imager and a 19-channel sounder, it was launched on 9 September 2016 by the GSLV Mk II F05,[6] and is a follow-up to INSAT-3D.
See main article: INSAT-3E. Launched in September 2003, INSAT-3E is positioned at 55 degree East longitude and carries 24 Normal C-band transponders provide an edge of coverage EIRP of 37 dBW over India and 12 Extended C-band transponders provide an edge of coverage EIRP of 38 dBW over India.[7] The satellite has been decommissioned and gone out of service from April 2014.[8] GSAT-16 will replace this satellite.
See main article: Kalpana-1. KALPANA-1 is an exclusive meteorological satellite launched by PSLV in September 2002. It carries Very High Resolution Radiometer and DRT payloads to provide meteorological services. It is located at 74 degree East longitude. Its first name was METSAT. It was later renamed as KALPANA-1 to commemorate Kalpana Chawla.
See main article: INSAT-4A. Launched in December 2005 by the European Ariane launch vehicle, INSAT-4A is positioned at 83 degree East longitude along with INSAT-2E and INSAT-3B. INSAT-A carries 12 Ku band 36 MHz bandwidth transponders employing 140 W TWTAs to provide an EIRP of 52 dBW at the edge of coverage polygon with footprint covering Indian main land and 12 C-band 36 MHz bandwidth transponders provide an EIRP of 39 dBW at the edge of coverage with expanded radiation patterns encompassing Indian geographical boundary, area beyond India in southeast and northwest regions.[9] Tata Sky, a joint venture between the TATA Group and STAR uses INSAT-4A for distributing their DTH service.
See main article: INSAT-4B. It was launched in March 2007 by the European Ariane launch vehicle. Configured with payloads identical to that of INSAT-4A, INSAT-4B carries 12 Ku band and 12 C-band transponders to provide EIRP of 52 dBW and 39 dBW respectively. Two Tx/Rx dual grid offset fed shaped beam reflectors of 2.2 m diameter for Ku band and 2 m diameter for C-band are used. INSAT-4B augments the high power transponder capacity over India in Ku band and over a wider region in C-band. It is co-located with INSAT-3A at 93.5 degree E longitude.[10]
The national space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has allotted nearly seven Ku band transponders to Sun Direct; a DTH service provider from South India, and the other five to Doordarshan's DD Direct Plus. 12 transponders in the C band are for TV, radio and telecommunication purposes.
The satellite was decommissioned on 24 January 2022. The satellite was moved to a disposal orbit, 340 km above geostationary orbit.[11]
American cyber warfare expert Jeffrey Carr, who specialises in investigations of cyber attacks against government, mentioned in his interview with The Times of India, that the reason for this power glitch may have been an infection by the sophisticated Stuxnet worm.[12] He attributed the development of Stuxnet worm most likely to Government of China which had the necessary sophistication to develop the bug and would gain the maximum by failure of Indian satellite. He also pointed out that Stuxnet was discovered just a month before the Indian satellite was hit by the power glitch, the reason for which still remains unknown. ISRO uses the same Siemens software that was targeted by Stuxnet.
See main article: INSAT-4CR. INSAT-4CR was launched on 2 September 2007 by GSLV-F04.[13] It is a replacement satellite of INSAT-4C which was lost when GSLV-F02 failed and had to be destroyed on its course. It carries 12 Ku band 36 MHz bandwidth transponders employing 140 W TWTAs to provide an Effective Isotropic Radiated Power of 51.5 dBW at Edge of Coverage with footprint covering Indian mainland. It also incorporates a Ku band Beacon as an aid to tracking the satellite.
On 8 September 2007 ISRO reported the satellite had reached a near geosynchronous orbit, and would be stabilized in its intended orbital position of 74 degrees E longitude by 15 September.[14] The satellite is designed for a mission life in of ten years. There were reports that the mission life of the satellite had decreased by five years as the thrusters had to burn this much fuel to restore the satellite to its correct orbit. However, the ISRO later refuted this claim dismissing it as false.[15]
The GSAT satellites are India's indigenously developed communications satellites, used for digital audio, data and video broadcasting for both military and civilian users. As of November 2018, 19 GSAT satellites of ISRO have been launched out of which 15 satellites are currently in service.
See main article: GSAT-2. Launched by the second flight of GSLV in May 2003, GSAT-2 is located at 48 degree East longitude and carries four Normal C-band transponders to provide 36 dBW EIRP with India coverage, two Ku band transponders with 42 dBW EIRP over India and an MSS payload similar to those on INSAT-3B and INSAT-3C.
See main article: GSAT-3. Configured for audio-visual medium employing digital interactive classroom lessons and multimedia content, GSAT-3 (EDUSAT) was launched by a GSLV in September 2004. Its transponders and their ground coverage are specially configured to cater to the educational requirements. The satellite carries a Ku band transponder covering the Indian mainland region with 50 dBW EIRP, five Ku band spot beam transponders for south, west, central, north and north-east regional coverage with 55 dBW EIRP and six Extended C-band transponders with India coverage with 37 dBW EIRP. EDUSAT is positioned at 74 degree East longitude and is collocated with KALPANA-1 and INSAT-3.
See main article: INSAT-4E. GSAT-6 (also called INSAT-4E) is a multimedia communication satellite that offers a Satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (S-DMB) service across several digital multimedia terminals or consoles which can be used to provide information services to vehicles on the fly and to the mobile phones.
See main article: GSAT-7. GSAT-7 (or INSAT-4F) is a multi-band military communications satellite developed by ISRO. The Indian Navy is the user of the multi-band communication spacecraft, which has been operational since September 2013.
See main article: GSAT-8. GSAT-8 (INSAT-4G), is a high power communication satellite in the INSAT system. Weighing about 3,100 kg at lift-off, GSAT-8 is configured to carry 24 high power transponders Ku band and a two-channel GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands.
See main article: GSAT-9. The GSAT-9, also known as the "South Asia Satellite", is a geostationary communications satellite and meteorology satellite operated by the ISRO for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region.[16] [17] The satellite was launched on 5 May 2017.
See main article: GSAT-10. GSAT-10 was launched by Ariane-5ECA carrier rocket in 2012. It serves with C and Ku band transponders, and includes a navigation payload to augment GAGAN capacity.
See main article: GSAT-12. GSAT-12 configured to carry 12 Extended C-band transponders to meet the country's growing demand for transponders in a short turn-around-time. The 12 Extended C-band transponders of GSAT-12 will augment the capacity in the INSAT system for various communication services like Tele-education, Telemedicine and for Village Resource Centres (VRC). It weighs about at lift-off.
See main article: GSAT-14. GSAT-14 was launched in January 2014 to replace the GSAT-3 satellite, which was launched in 2004.
See main article: GSAT-15. GSAT-15 is similar to GSAT-10 and is used to augment the capacity of transponders to provide more bandwidth for Direct-to-Home television and VSAT services. It was successfully launched on 10 November 2015 at 21:34:07 UTC aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, along with the ArabSat 6B satellite.[18]
See main article: GSAT-16. GSAT-16 is the 11th Indian communication satellite meant to increase the number of transponders that in turn enhance the satellite based telecommunication, television, VSAT services in India. GSAT-16 was launched on 7 December 2014 from the Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, by an Ariane 5 rocket.
See main article: GSAT-17. it carries 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. It additionally carries a dedicated transponder for data relay (DRT) and search-and-rescue (SAR) services.[19] At the time of launch, GSAT-17 was the heaviest satellite built by ISRO.[20] The satellite was launched on 28 June 2017 aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.
See main article: GSAT-18. GSAT-18 carries 24 C-band, 12 extended C-band, and 12 Ku-band transponders. It was launched on 5 October 2016 aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.
See main article: GSAT-19. Launched on 5 June 2017, GSAT-19 is a communication satellite testbed for the modular I-6K satellite bus, carrying experimental technologies such as ion thrusters for manoeuvring and stabilisation, active thermal control using thermal radiators, a miniaturised inertial reference unit, indigenously produced lithium-ion batteries, and C-band traveling-wave-tube amplifiers.[21] [22] [23]
See main article: GSAT-29. The GSAT-29 is a large high-throughput communication satellite that was launched on 14 November 2018 through the second developmental flight of GSLV Mark III,[24] that placed the satellite into its planned geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) over the equator.[25] Apart from its main communication payload in Ka/Ku bands, GSAT-29 hosts few experimental payloads to mature their technology for use in future spacecraft.[26]
| Serial No. | Satellite | Date of Launch | Launch Vehicle | Status |
| 1 | INSAT-1A | 10 April 1982 | Delta | Failed in orbit |
| 2 | INSAT-1B | 30 August 1983 | Shuttle PAM-D | Mission Completed |
| 3 | INSAT-1C | 22 July 1988 | Ariane-3 | Partial failure in orbit |
| 4 | INSAT-1D | 12 June 1990 | Delta | Mission Completed |
| 5 | INSAT-2A | 10 July 1992 | Ariane-4 | Mission Completed |
| 6 | INSAT-2B | 23 July 1993 | Ariane-4 | Mission Completed |
| 7 | INSAT-2C | 7 December 1995 | Ariane-4 | Mission Completed |
| 8 | INSAT-2D | 4 June 1997 | Ariane-4 | Failed in Orbit |
| 9 | INSAT-2E | 3 April 1999 | Ariane-4 | Mission Completed |
| 10 | INSAT-3B | 22 March 2020 | Ariane-5 | Mission Completed |
| 11 | GSAT-1 | 18 April 2001 | GSLV | Mission Completed |
| 12 | INSAT-3C | 24 January 2002 | Ariane-5 | Mission Completed |
| 13 | KALPANA-1 | 12 September 2002 | PSLV | Mission Completed |
| 14 | INSAT-3A | 10 April 2003 | Ariane-5 | Mission Completed |
| 15 | GSAT-2 | 8 May 2003 | GSLV | |
| 16 | INSAT-3E | 28 September 2003 | Ariane-5 | |
| 17 | EDUSAT | 20 September 2004 | GSLV | Mission Completed |
| 18 | HAMSAT | 5 May 2005 | PSLV | |
| 19 | INSAT-4A | 22 December 2005 | Ariane-5 | |
| 20 | INSAT-4C | 10 July 2006 | GSLV | Launch unsuccessful |
| 21 | INSAT-4B | 12 March 2007 | Ariane-5 | Mission Completed |
| 22 | INSAT-4CR | 2 September 2007 | GSLV | |
| 23 | GSAT-4 | 15 April 2010 | GSLV | Launch unsuccessful |
| 24 | GSAT-5P | 25 December 2010 | GSLV-F06 | Launch unsuccessful |
| 25 | GSAT-8 | 21 May 2011 | Ariane-5 | |
| 26 | GSAT-12 | 15 July 2011 | PSLV-C17 | |
| 27 | GSAT-10 | 29 September 2012 | Ariane-5 | |
| 28 | GSAT-7 | 30 August 2013 | Ariane-5 | |
| 29 | GSAT-14 | 5 January 2014 | GSLV-D5 | |
| 30 | GSAT-16 | 7 December 2014 | Ariane-5 | |
| 31 | GSAT-6 | 27 August 2015 | GSLV-D6 | |
| 32 | GSAT-15 | 11 November 2015 | Ariane-5 | |
| 33 | GSAT-18 | 6 October 2016 | Ariane-5 | |
| 34 | GSAT-9 | 5 May 2017 | GSLV-F09 | |
| 35 | GSAT-19 | 5 June 2017 | GSLV MkIII - D1 | |
| 36 | GSAT-17 | 29 June 2017 | Ariane-5 | |
| 37 | GSAT-6A | 29 March 2018 | GSLV-F08 | Failed in Orbit |
| 38 | GSAT-29 | 14 November 2018 | GSLV MkIII-D2 | |
| 39 | GSAT-11 | 5 December 2018 | Ariane-5 | |
| 40 | GSAT-7A | 19 December 2018 | GSLV-F11 | |
| 41 | GSAT-31 | 6 February 2019 | Ariane-5 VA-247 | |
| 42 | GSAT-30 | 17 January 2020 | Ariane-5 VA-251 | |
| 43 | CMS-01 (GSAT-12R) | 17 December 2020 | PSLV-C50 | |
| 44 | CMS-02 (GSAT-24) | 23 June 2022 | Ariane-5 VA-257 | |
| 45 | INSAT-3DS | 17 February 2024 | GSLV Mk II | |
| 46 | GSAT-20 (CMS-03) | Q2 2024 | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Planned |
| 47 | GSAT-22[29] | 2025 | LVM3 | Planned |
| 48 | GSAT-23 | 2025 | LVM3 | Planned |