Madhavan Nair, the chief of Indian Space Research Organisation, said the INSAT-3E was slated to be launched from French Guyana on September 28.

"It is an exclusive communication satellite and will augment the present capacity of INSAT for communication and television services," Nair told reporters in this southern Indian city of Bangalore, the country's technology and aviation hub.

Nair said the 2,775-kilogramme (6,105-pound) satellite will have 24 transponders.

"Another 12 transponders will be in the extended C-band and this will augment our capability. Of course, most of them will go to governmental and social applications and some of them will be taken by the private players," he said.

He said India was trying to tap the global communications market, an effort helped by its bilateral cooperation with a number of countries.

"We can capture the market with political support from other governments. There are players in the US and Europe who try to lure others towards their launches. So we also have to work out some strategy," Nair said.

SPACE.WIRE