India to use SpaceX rocket to launch communications satellite

FILE PHOTO: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off, carrying 53 Starlink internet satellites, from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. May 18, 2022. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will launch a communications satellite using SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket this year, its first partnership with a venture led by billionaire Elon Musk who also wants to expand his other businesses in the country.

The high-capacity satellite aims to boost India's broadband communication, especially in remote and unconnected regions of the country, state-run NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), the commercial arm of India's space agency, said in a statement on Tuesday.