European Space Agency rocket fires Indian satellite into geostationary orbit

| Last updated less than one minute ago

Submit :

News Photos Just In Debate Topic Latest News Articles Local News Blog Posts Pictures Reviews Recipes

Thomas Kurien

21 May, 2011

Today the Ariane-V rocket of Arianespace belonging to the European Space Agency (ESA) international organisation blasted off Kourou spaceport in French Guiana carrying the Indian geostationary satellite. The launch went off well.

THE MEGA geostationary satellite GSAT-8 after being launched is now in an elliptical geo-synchronous transfer orbit as per the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

“The Rs.260-crore advanced communication satellite was injected into the transfer orbit 31 minutes after a textbook launch at 0208 IST and it started beaming signals to our master control facility (MCF) near Hassan in Karnataka,” S. Satish, director of the state-run space agency, told a news agency.

The launched satellite weighs 3,093 kg, and it came apart from the rocket's upper stage at an altitude of 1,800 km and then it went into the designated orbit of 35,861 km away from earth and 258 km close to earth – at an inclination of 2.5 degree to the equator.

ISRO spent Rs.300 crore on the satellite while Rs.30 crore was used for satellite insurance.

Latest checks by the Master Control Facility at Hassan, about 180 km northwest of the IT hub of Bangalore, indicated that the satellite's technical performance is sound. The facility is now preparing the satellite for its third orbit on early Sunday to send it to its geostationary orbital slot, where it will be gradually put into the 36,000 km geosynchronous orbit in the next couple of days. After deployment the satellite’s antenna and solar panels will be deployed.

According to ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan, the launch was a great moment for the country and its space community. “The user community is looking forward to the activation of the 24 transponders in the INSAT system. The successful launch is a new phase in our communication, application and space system,” Radhakrishnan said right after the launch of the mission.