In the first operation, managed from Isro's Master Control Facility in Hassan, Karnataka, the solar array on the south side of the satellite was deployed in two stages. The main solar panels were deployed yesterday 10:40 am (IST), followed by the deployment of two side panels. Then, the antenna reflector on the west side of the satellite was deployed at 11:30 am and finally the antenna reflector on the east side was deployed at 12:15 pm.

The Sun-tracking solar array of Insat-3A has a total area of 26.6 sq m and it is designed to generate 3.1 kW of power in orbit. The satellite has two deployable antennas and one fixed antenna to carry out various transmit and receive functions.

Earlier in the day (6 am), the three-axis stabilization of Insat-3A was carried out. In this configuration, the spacecraft will be locked to Earth continuously through the optical sensors, and will maintain the correct attitude to look at the Earth in a stable manner. The Momentum Wheels onboard the satellite were switched ON and stabilized to the nominal speed of 4500 revolutions per minute to provide gyroscopic stiffness and facilitate 3-axis stabilization.

The deployment of the Solar Sail/Boom on the north side of the satellite was carried out shortly after the 3-axis stabilization of the satellite.

With this, all the deployment operations have been completed.

The health of INSAT-3A is normal. The satellite is now located at 87.4 deg East longitude and is moving towards its designated orbital slot of 93.5 deg East longitude.

For more on Insat-3A click here