CHENNAI: Fulfilling the promise made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to SAARC countries, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the South Asia Satellite (GSAT-9) on Friday from Sriharikota.
Isro's GSLV -F09 rocket lifted off from Second Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota at 4.57 p.m. After 17 minutes of flight, the rocket successfully injected the 2,230 kg satellite in its intended orbit.
Isro chairman A.S.Kiran Kumar called it a "perfect launch."
Speaking to this newspaper after the launch, he said, "All stages have performed perfectly. The satellite was precisely injected into the designated orbit. There is only a little deviation."
The satellite was placed into the oval shaped Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit with a perigee of 169 km and apogee of 36,105 km. Soon after the separation, the two solar arrays of the satellite were automatically deployed in quick succession and the Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka assumed control of the satellite.
South Asia Satellite (GSAT-9) has 12 Ku-band transponders as payload. The six countries which are part of the project - Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan — will get each one Ku transponder for providing the variety of communication services including telecommunication and direct-to-home (DTH) services.
The space organisation will assist these countries in making full use of the satellite like giving training and help them establish the ground stations.
"This is the fourth consecutive successful flight of the indigenous cryogenic upper stage. We are targeting nearly two GSLV launches every year," Mr.Kiran Kumar said.
