The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) started off 2018 in a good way with the launch of the PSLV-C40/Cartosat-2 Series Satellite Mission – and now they have successfully launched the GSLV-F08/GSAT-6A communication satellite on Thursday, 29 March. The satellite was launched at 16:56 IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
The GSAT-6A is a high power S-band communication satellite configured to provide a platform for developing technologies with its key responsibility being providing mobile communication and carries a mission life of about 10 years.
The GSLV-F08 is a three stage launch vehicle system which is designed to launch 2-tonne class satellites into geosynchronuos transfer orbit. The rocket weighs 415.6-tonnes, measuring 49.1 metre tall.
The Vikram Sarabhai Space Center in Thiruvananthapuram and the liquid propulsion centre at Valiamala and Bengaluru are the primary contributors for the development of the launch vehicle.
The launch is a momentous occasion for the ISRO as it marks the 12th flight of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV-F08 and sixth flight with indigenous cryogenic upper stage. The satellite will be put into orbit roughly around 17 minutes after the rocket lifts off.
The ISRO said the GSAT-6A was similar to the GSAT-6.
However, the two satellites became a subject of controversy as 90 percent of transponders were to be leased to Devas Multimedia by the ISRO's commercial arm Antrix Corporation under a deal which was annulled in February 2011 on the grounds that the country's defence needs had to be met.
Under the controversial deal, the Bengaluru-based Devas was to use the transponders of GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A in the crucial S-Band wavelength (that was primarily kept for the country's strategic interests) for its digital multimedia service for 12 years.
Antrix had signed the $300 million contract with Devas in January 2005 and obtained the sanction of the Space Commission and the Union cabinet for the two satellites without informing the government that the bulk capacity would be leased to the multimedia service provider.
When the controversy broke in December 2009, the ISRO ordered a review of the deal and subsequently the Space Commission had recommended its annulment on July 2, 2010. Antrix terminated the deal on 25 February 2011.
Subsequently, the GSAT-6 was launched in 2015.
With inputs from IANS
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