INSAT-3E SET FOR LAUNCH EARLY MORNING
INSAT-3E is all set
to launch tomorrow (September 28, 2003) between 4.32 am and 4.50
am IST. The forth in the INSAT-3 series, its launch was delayed
by more than a month due to problems in some components. The INSAT-3E
will be put into orbit by "Ariane" the European Space
Agency vehicle from Kourou, in French Guyana. INSAT-3A, 3B, 3C
are already operational. 3D, the last in the series, is an exclusive
met-satellite slated for launch during 2004.
INSAT-3E, an exclusive
communication satellite will replace INSAT-2DT as well as transponders
taken on lease, besides augmenting the present INSAT capacity
for Tele-communication services. Thirty minutes after lift-off,
the satellite will be injected into a geo-synchronous transfer
orbit. The Master Control Facility at Hasan in Karnataka will
take command of the spacecraft after receiving the first signals
from it.
INSAT-3E payloads
comprise, 24 C-band transponders, and 12 extended C-Band transponders.
