The India-Bhutan SAT, jointly developed by the two neighbouring nations, was launched into space today by ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
The PSLV C54 carried the India-Bhutan SAT, along with India’s Earth Observation Satellite -06 and other satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India.
A high-level delegation from Bhutan, led by Lyonpo Karma Donnen Wangdi, Minister of Information and Communications of Bhutan specially travelled to Sriharikota to witness the launch of the India-Bhutan SAT. An 18-member media delegation from Bhutan who is on a week-long familiarisation visit to India was also at Sriharikota to witness the launch of the India-Bhutan SAT.
India has assisted in the capacity building of Bhutanese engineers through hands-on training at the UR Rao Satellite Centre, in Bengaluru, on satellite building and testing, as well as on processing and analysing satellite data. This culminated in the joint development of the customized satellite for Bhutan, launched today.
The India-Bhutan SAT will provide high-resolution images to Bhutan for the management of its natural resources.
It may also be recalled that during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bhutan in August 2019, the two sides had jointly inaugurated the ground earth station of the South Asia Satellite in Thimphu, constructed with the support of ISRO.