A commercial Launch Services Agreement between Antrix Corporation Limited (ANTRIX), the commercial arm of ISRO; and ASTRIUM SAS, a Company under EADS, France; has been signed recently. Under this agreement, an advanced Remote Sensing satellite – SPOT -6, weighing nearly 800 kg, built by ASTRIUM SAS, will be launched on-board ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), during the second half of 2012. Along with SPOT – 6 satellite, the PSLV, in its core alone configuration, will also carry other co-passenger payloads.
This Launch Services Agreement signed between ANTRIX and ASTRIUM is a part of the Long Term Agreement signed between the two agencies in September 2008.
It may be recalled that in November 2010, under a commercial contract between ANTRIX and ASTRIUM, an advanced communication satellite HYLAS was successfully built by ISRO and ASTRIUM together for a EUROPEAN customer. In the coming days, further collaboration possibilities between ANTRIX/ISRO and ASTRIUM would be explored.
