BANGALORE: India’s advanced communication satellite GSAT-10 that would augment telecommunication, direct-to-home broadcasting and radio navigation services was successfully launched early today on board Ariane-5 rocket from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana in South America.
At the end of a smooth countdown lasting 11 hours and 30 minutes, Ariane-5 ECA rocket injected GSAT-10 into an elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), very close to the intended one, after a flight of 30 minutes and 45 seconds, Indian Space Research Organization said.
At 3,400 kg at lift-off, GSAT-10 is the heaviest built by Bangalore-headquartered ISRO.GSAT-10 project is a Rs 750 crore mission that includes the cost of satellite, launch services by the European space consortium Arianespace and insurance.
Soon after GSAT-10 was hurtled into space, ISRO’s Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka took over the command and control of the satellite and declared the launch of Indian space agency’s 101st space mission a success.
“The satellite is in good health”, ISRO said after checks on various subsystems of the spacecraft, adding all its parameters were satisfactory.
Blasting off from the launch pad at 2.48 am (IST), Arianespace’s rocket first injected European co-passenger ASTRA 2F into orbit followed by GSAT-10.
With a 15-year design life, GSAT-10 is expected to be operational by November and will augment telecommunication, DTH and radio navigation services by adding 30 more to the much-in-demand transponder capacity, now hit by a crunch.
ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan, who was at MCF at Hassan at the launch, said, “By November 2012, we expect to operationally GSAT-10 and make it available to the user community.-PTI
