Sriharikota : India successfully placed its communication satellite in orbit on Thursday using its heavy rocket geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle. GSLV-D6 lifted off from Sriharikota spaceport at 4.52 pm as scheduled on Thursday carrying communication satellite GSAT-6.
The successful flight of GSLV rocket gives the Indian space programme a much-needed booster as getting the more-efficient cryogenic engine (which provides more thrust for every kilogram of propellant burnt) right is important for its future space programmes.
GSLV-D6 / GSAT-6 Update: pic.twitter.com/zQBRQHaLY5
— ISRO (@isro) August 27, 2015
The 29-hour countdown for this launch began at 11.52 am on Wednesday after the Mission Readiness Review (MRR) committee and Launch Authorisation Board (LAB) cleared the starting of the countdown.
This was the ninth flight of the GSLV and the third development flight using a cryogenic engine.
The 49.1 metre tall rocket weighing 416 tonnes slung the 2,117 kg GSAT-6 communication satellite in the geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) around 17 minutes into the flight.
As the whole mission concluded successfully, ISRO scientists at the mission control centre were visibly happy, back-slapping and hugging each other once the rocket ejected the GSAT-6 satellite into the intended orbit.
Speaking about the launch, ISRO chairman A.S.Kiran Kumar said: "Today's performance of launch vehicle was normal. The intricacies of cryogenic engine has been understood."
Know all about GSAT-6:
- GSAT-6 is the twenty fifth geostationary communication satellite of India built by ISRO and twelfth in the GSAT series.
- According to ISRO, GSAT-6 provides communication through five spot beams in S-band and a national beam in C-band for strategic users.
- One of the advanced features of GSAT-6 satellite is its S-Band Unfurlable Antenna of 6m diameter.
- This is the largest satellite antenna realised by ISRO.
- This is the fifth time ISRO is flying a GSLV rocket carrying a satellite weighing over two tonnes. Of the four earlier missions, three failed due to various reasons and one was successful.
