GSAT-7,
the multi-band communication satellite named Rukmani (Rukmini) is the
first satellite developed by ISRO and the sixth among the stack of seven
INSAT-4 series communication satellites which was designed, developed
and fabricated by India.
It
carries the payloads in UHF, C-band and Ku band. The 2,650 kilograms
GSAT-7 is the last of ISRO’s seven fourth-generation satellites. The
multiple-band spacecraft will be used exclusively by the Navy to shore
up secure, real-time communications among its warships, submarines,
aircraft and land systems. GSAT-7 / INSAT-4F is said to significantly
improve the country’s maritime security and intelligence gathering in a
wide swathe on the eastern and western flanks of the Indian Ocean
region. The satellite was launched early on 30 August 2013 atop an
Ariane 5 ECA rocket from Kourou, French Guiana.
Rukmini will provide
networking capabilities with various Indian Naval assets. During
Theater-level Readiness and Operational Exercise (Tropex-2015) in the
Bay of Bengal in 2014, Rukmini was able to network about 60 ships and 75
aircraft seamlessly. The intention of the Indian Navy is to use this
geostationary naval communication and surveillance satellite to cover
activities up to the Malacca Straits in the east and the Hormuz Strait
to the west. Rukmini has a nearly 2,000 nautical mile 'footprint' over
the Indian Ocean Region.
The Defence Minister
Shri Manohar Parrikar released a stamp commemorating the indigenous
Naval communication satellite Rukmani, which is a dedicated Naval
satellite, taking the Navy to the step in achieving complete
digitisation of communications. The Stamp Release took place on board
the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya on the occasion of two days’ of
Theatre Readiness Operational Level Exercise (TROPEX-2015), off the
coast of Goa in the Arabian Sea
