Nellore: The country’s most powerful, indigenously made communications satellite, the G-SAT 6A, was successfully launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday by scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation. The Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle, (GSLV)-F08 injected the GSAT-6A, India’s heaviest communication satellite, into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) with textbook precision. Isro has achieved multiple objectives with the current launch: providing advance mobile communication, boosting communication of the armed forces, and increasing the payload capacity of the GSLV Mk-III vehicle to three tonnes.
After travelling for 17.46 minutes into space, GSAT-6A was placed in the GTO from where it would be taken up to its final geostationary orbit by three orbit raising manoeuvres. GSAT-6A is a high power communication satellite similar to GSAT-6, launched three years ago, with a lift-off mass of 2,140 kg. These two satellites will combine to provide a platform for development of advanced technologies in point to point satellite communication throughout India, according to Dr Sivan, chairman of Isro. Incidentally, this was Dr Sivan’s first mission after taking over as Isro chairman in January this year.
The 2,066-kg satellite, which cost around Rs 270 crore, will be able to send and receive signals from hand-held devices. This will be particularly useful for security forces stationed in remote corners of the country. This will be enabled by a unique feature of the GSAT-6A - its 20-ft diameter antenna, which will unfurl once the satellite reaches its designated orbit. The antenna is thrice as broad as the antennas generally used in Isro satellites and is powerful enough to allow two-way communication of data from remote parts of the country through hand-held devices. The 49.1-metre-long 414.6 tonne GSLV took off majestically as per schedule at 4.56 pm from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Shar, Sriharikota located in SPSR Nellore district.
