Guwahati, Apr 8: ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan has assured Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s full support in launching the state’s first satellite, ASSAMSAT.

In a meeting held at Assam House in New Delhi on Monday, Chief Minister Sarma presented the Government of Assam’s plan to develop and launch ASSAMSAT in collaboration with IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre), under the Department of Space.

Highlighting the project’s objectives, Sarma said the satellite would provide continuous data to aid in agriculture, disaster management, infrastructure development, border surveillance, and policing.

“ASSAMSAT will ensure real-time access to critical data that can transform our planning and response capabilities across sectors,” Sarma said.

The ISRO Chairman, accompanied by his wife, welcomed the initiative and confirmed that ISRO would extend full technical support to the state.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Chief Minister said: “ISRO is fully onboard to help Assam launch its first-ever satellite. Tentatively, these will be low Earth orbit satellites, enabling seamless coverage of the state for various applications like flood mitigation, policy planning, and fighting infiltration.”

Sarma also revealed plans to establish a major space observatory at Chandrapur in Guwahati, with the first phase expected to be operational by January 2026. During the meeting, the ISRO chief also explained the functioning of the GSLV cryogenic launch vehicle, which will play a role in India’s human space mission, Gaganyaan.

The Chief Minister’s Office posted that the initiative marks a significant step towards harnessing space technology for state development and lauded ISRO’s contribution to national progress.