The Technology Demonstration Satellite-01 or TDS-01 is a planned Indian geostationary orbit technology demonstration satellite carrying payloads for ISRO's Institute of Plasma Research, Gandhinagar and the CSIR-CEERI, Pilani. Payloads to be tested included an internally developed 300mN electric powered thruster, atomic clocks, travelling wave tube amplifiers (TWTA) and a quantum communication suite (QuTDS).
Satellite technologies
35 new technologies, ranging from atomic clocks to an Ion propulsion demonstration are planned for the satellite. The primary objective will be validation of a 300 milli-Newton (300mN), 5.4kW electric propulsion thruster developed by LPSC. This is expected to be an improvement over the smaller 75mN thruster used on GSAT 9. It is hoped to reduce fuel load up to 90% with an initial demonstration quantity of less than 200kg of Xenon, as compared to two tonnes for other Geostationary satellites. A 1000 hour Ground test of the plasma thruster was conducted on 27 March 2025 to test the flight model prior to integration. The plasma thruster will be used for orbit raising of satellite to the Geostationary orbit. Instrumentation to validate quantum key distribution technology and a traveling wave tube amplifier will also be demonstrated on this flight. Over ₹18,700 lakhs have been allotted for hardware development for a five year span from 2021 to 2026.
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
