ISRO successfully launches GSAT-29 communication satellite

With the launch, the satellite aims at solving the communication barriers faced by Village Resource Centres (VRCs), which are responsible for providing space-based services to ISRO from rural areas.

The launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Wednesday evening, defying earlier speculation of delay in the launch due to cyclone ‘Gaja’, which is expected to cross the Tamil Nadu coast on 15 November.

GSAT-29 carries Ka and Ku band high throughput transponders intended to meet the communication requirements of users, including in the North East and in Jammu and Kashmir.

Following the lift off, the rocket would inject the satellite into the Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) with required inclination to the equator.

The satellite would be placed in its final Geostationary Orbit using the on-board propulsion system and it may take a few days after separation from launcher to reach the orbital slot, ISRO said.

GSLV-MkIII is the fifth generation launch vehicle developed by ISRO and is designed to place satellites of upto 4,000 kg in GTO.

The launch vehicle is the 67th launch mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota and the 33 communication satellite built by ISRO for which this will be be the fifth launch this year.

The GSLV-MkIII-D2 is a three stage launch vehicle with two solid strap-ons, a liquid core stage and a cryogenic upper stage.Compared to solid and liquid stages, the C25 cryogenic stage is more efficient as well as complex.

According to the ISRO, the GSAT-29 satellite is intended to serve as a test bed for several new technologies. It is specifically designed to cater to communication requirements of users from remote areas of the country. The mission life is about 10 years.