Rehearsals on for INSAT-3B lift-off on March 22

Rehearsals on for INSAT-3B lift-off on March 22
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

PARIS, MARCH 19: India's INSAT-3B communications satellite is all set to be launched from Kourou in French Guyana by an Ariane-5 rocket on March 22 with officials saying that the final launch readiness review and other tests on the satellite have given "satisfactory results".

"The final launch readiness review was conducted on Friday and all the trials have been very successful. Now we are eagerly looking forward to the launch,'' P Sivasankaran Nair, Project Director of INSAT-3B told PTI over phone from Kourou.

Dr K Kasturirangan, Chief of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), reached Kourou a couple of days ago and supervised the final review of the satellite operations on March 16 and the launch readiness review involving the Ariane-5 vehicle on March 17.

During the launch readiness review, along with the Master Control Facility in Hasan, Karnataka, other Telemetry, Tracking and Command stations participated in the operation. "So far all the results have been successful and weather conditions are also conducive for the launch'' Nair said.

The Ariane-5 launch vehicle along with its passengers, INSAT-3B and Asia Star satellites has been moved to the launch pad on Saturday and the final launch countdown began immediately thereafter. INSAT-3B, designed and built by Indian scientists, will be launched on March 22 between 4.27 am and 5.14 am (IST). After a successful launch, the Ariane-5 will put the 2,070 kg Indian satellite into the Geo-stationary orbit of about 36,000 km from the earth.

The master control facility in Hasan would take control of the satellite in about 35 minutes after the Ariane's lift-off. The satellite would be co-located at 83 East longitude over the Indian Ocean along with other INSAT series satellite, officials said.

ISRO officials said the INSAT-3B satellite, first of the INSAT-3 series, is carrying 12 extended C-band transponders, three KU-band transponders and one MSS transponder -- all for satellite broadcast and telecommunications in India. Once put into operation, INSAT-3B, which has a launch cost of about Rs 480 crores, will help in improving business communication, developmental communication and mobile communication. Unlike the INSAT-2E, which had a dedicated launch last year by an Ariane-4 launch vehicle, the present one will be accompanied by an Asia Star satellite, owned by World Space Corporation.

While the Asia Star satellite has been scheduled to separate from the launch vehicle 28 minutes after the launch, the INSAT-3B will be put into the orbit at the 35th minute.