By IANS
Bangalore : The final countdown for the Sunday launch of India’s latest communication satellite Insat-4CR began Saturday afternoon at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, about 100 km from Chennai.
A top Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) official told IANS on phone from Sriharikota that the go-ahead for the 27-hour final countdown was given after the met department gave an all-weather clearance earlier in the day.
“As per the schedule, the final countdown began in the afternoon (around 13:30 IST) for the geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-F04) lift-off Sunday at about 16.21 (IST) with the Insat-4CR payload, weighing 2,130 kg,” the official said.
The satellite carries 12 high-power Ku-band transponders for direct-to-home (DTH) television services, video picture transmission and digital satellite newsgathering. It is the fifth flight of the 49-metre GSLV.
“The countdown is progressing well at the launch pad. All precautions have been taken for a textbook launch and orbital deployment of the satellite, which is a replacement of its earlier version – Insat-4C – that was destroyed July 10 last year when the launch vehicle (GSLV-F02) crashed (56 seconds after lift-off due to a strap-on motor malfunctioning),” the official pointed out.
The 410-tonne GSLV rocket will deploy the satellite into the geo-synchronous transfer orbit (GTO) within minutes after lift-off. The Master Control Facility (MCF) of the Indian space agency will track the satellite’s movement from Hassan in Karnataka, about 200 km from here, and guide the spacecraft to the allotted slot in the geo-stationary orbit by firing its motors.
“The GSLV launch will have a three-stage operation, with the first being the firing of the four liquid fuelled strap-on boosters, followed by quick ascending of the rocket with the liquid fuel, and the use of the Russian built Cryogenic engine for the final thrust,” the official noted.
As the third in the Insat-4 series, the replaced satellite will augment the capacity of the 200-odd orbital transponders of the Indian space agency and enhance the quality of the services rendered to diverse users, including broadcasters and network application providers.