Advanced GSAT-8satellite launchedsuccessfully

[IndianTiger]

India’s advanced communication satellite,
GSAT-8, was successfully
launched at 2:08 am (IST)
today by the Ariane-V launch
vehicle of Arianespace from
Kourou, French Guiana, in South America. Ariane V
placed the GSAT-8 into the
intended Geosynchronous
Transfer Orbit (GTO) of 35,861
km apogee and 258 km
perigee. Isro’s Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka
acquired the signals from
GSAT-8 satellite immediately
after the injection, according
to a statement from Isro.
Initial checks on the satellite have indicated normal health
of the satellite. “Preparations are underway for the firing of 440 Newton
Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM)
during the third orbit of the
satellite on May 22, at 3:58 am
(IST) as a first step towards
taking the satellite to its geostationary orbital home, ” the statement added. The GSAT-8 will improve
direct to home TV broadcast
services. Weighing about 3100
Kg at lift-off, GSAT-8 is
configured to carry 24 high
power transponders in Ku- band and a two-channel GPS
Aided Geo Augmented
Navigation (GAGAN) payload
operating in L1 and L5 bands. The 24 Ku band transponders
will augment the capacity in
the Insat system. The GAGAN
payload provides the Satellite
Based Augmentation System
(SBAS), through which the accuracy of the positioning
information obtained from
the GPS Satellite is improved
by a network of ground
based receivers and made
available to the users in the country through the
geostationary satellites. Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh has applauded the
efforts of the Department of
Space for the successful launch
of advanced communication
satellite GSAT-8 for improving in an elliptical geo-
synchronous transfer orbit
early Saturday by the Ariane-
VA-202 rocket. Within minutes, the space
agency’s master control facility (MCF) at Hassan, about
180 km from Bangalore,
identified the presence of
GSAT-8 in the geo-
synchronous transfer orbit
(GTO). Responding to the news, the
official Isro spokesperson
claimed MCF will conduct a
test to track the health
parameters of the payloads
by June 1 so that it will be accessed by DTH services from
July 1.