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The launch, delayed by a day after a minor anomaly was noticed
in the satellite on Wednesday, went on with clockwork precision
as the European consortium rocket lifted off according to launch
window schedule, carrying Insat-3A and Panamsat's Galaxy XII satellite
and injecting them into space.
As Ariane-5 carried out its mission, Indian Space Research Organisation's
(Isro) chairman Dr K Kasturirangan and other top space scientists,
including project director RK Rajangam, who were present at Kourou,
expressed their joy over the successful launch, the Press Trust
of India reported.
The launch of Insat-3A was called off for the day yesterday after
it was observed that the signal strength from one of the two telemetry
transmitters was "less than nominal" during the final checks midway
through the 11 and a half hours countdown.
Insat-3A is Isro's biggest satellite to date and is the third satellite
in the Insat-3 series. It will provide telecommunication, television
broadcasting, meteorology and satellite-aided search and rescue
services.
The Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka is scheduled
to take control of Insat-3A soon after its injection into Geosynchronous
Tranfer Orbit. In the following days, operations like orbit raising
manoeuvres to take the satellite into the final Geostationary Orbit,
deployment of solar arrays, antennas and solar sail, 3-axes stabilisation,
etc., will be conducted from MCF. The MCF will also carry out regular
operations and control of the satellite during its design life.
Insat-3A is a multipurpose satellite for providing telecommunication,
television broadcasting, meteorology and satellite aided search
and rescue services. It carries 12 C-band, 6 upper extended C-band,
6 Ku-band and one search and rescue transponders. The meteorological
instruments consist of Very High Resolution Radiometer, a Charge
Coupled Device (CCD) camera and a data relay transponder.
Live Telecast: The launch of Insat-3A from Kourou was telecast
live by national broadcaster Doordarshan (DD-1) from 3.59 am (IST).
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here for more on the INSAT 3A
Also read:
Insat
3A launch postponed; issue over payload
All
systems go for Insat 3A launch early Wednesday
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