Communication satellite GSAT-10 launch on 29th

CHENNAI — The latest communication satellite GSAT10 will be launched from the Kourou space centre in French Guiana by Ariane-5 rocket on September 29, ISRO said in a statement yesterday.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said GSAT-10 with 30 communication transponders — automatic receivers and transmitters for communication and broadcast of signals- is the heaviest satellite built by it. The rocket will be launched at 0248 hours.

“The 3.4-tonne heavy satellite (GSAT-10) has been integrated with the Ariane-V rocket along with Astra-2F spacecraft of SES as co-passenger for the launch on September 29 at 2.48 am IST,” the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement.

Astra-2F belongs to the Luxembourg-based leading satellite operator SES. A minor snag detected on September 15 had forced the European Space Agency (Arianespace) to postpone the launsch of the twin satellites by seven days from September 22.

The cost of the GSAT-10, including its launch and insurance, is Rs.750 crore (over $135 million). It has a 15-year life span.

The Indian satellite, carrying 30 transponders will be injected into a geosynchronous transfer orbit.

“After the satellite is injected into the elliptical geotransfer orbit, ISRO’s master control facility at Hassan (180 km from Bangalore) will take control of it and perform the orbit raising manoeuvers...,” the statement said.

The transponders include 12 in normal C-band, six in lower extended C-band and 12 Ku-band and a GPS (global positioning system) aided Geo-augmented navigation (Gagan) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands.

As a two-way device, a transponder receives signals over a range of uplink frequencies and re-transmits them on a different set of downlink frequencies to receivers on earth without changing the content (voice, data or pictures) of the received signals.

GSAT-10 will augment the communication transponders’ capacity to 198 from 168 in the Indian satellite (INSAT) system.

Incidentally, GSAT-10 will be the second satellite after GSAT-8 to carry the Gagan payload for providing navigation services to airlines and ships. The Ku-band transponder will also help in accurately pointing ground antennas towards the satellite.

“The satellite’s solar panels and antennas will be deployed soon after it is placed into the geostationary orbit using its propulsion system in a threestep approach,” the space agency said.

According to Isro, the GSAT-10 will be injected in geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) by the Ariane rocket around 31 minutes after the lift-off. From there, the satellite will be moved to geostationary orbit (GSO) at 36,000 km above the equator.

After the conduct of several tests, GSAT-10 is expected to be operational by November this year and will have a life span of around 15 years.

The Indian space agency has a total of 168 transponders under its INSAT/GSAT satellite series. It has also taken on lease 94 transponders from foreign satellites. — IANS