First orbit raising operation of GSAT-29 carried out

An ISRO release here said the first orbit raising operation of GSAT-29 was successfully carried out by firing the Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) engine of the satellite at 8.34 am for a duration of 4,875 seconds.

After the Orbit was raised, the Apogee, the farthest point from the earth and Perigee, closest point to earth, height of the satellite was changed from 35,897 km and 189 km to 35,745 km and 7642 km respectively and the inclination was changed from 21.46 deg to 8.9 deg. The orbital period was 13 hours, it said.

Soon after the successful launch, ISRO Chairman Dr K Sivan said the space agency would carry out three orbit raising operations to place the satellite from the Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) to the Geostationary Orbit (GSO).

He said GSAT-29 was a very advanced and high throughput satellite that carried operational payload in Ka/Ku band communication transponders that would provide services to remote places of India like Jammu and Kashmir and to the North Eastern region under the Digital India programme of the Central government.

In addition, the operational payload this satellite was having included three advanced technological demonstration payloads, communication payloads as well as high resolution cameras.

‘’This advanced payload will make a technological breakthrough in the GSAT series in future advanced satellites’’, he added.

In addition, several new technologies like Q/V-band payload, data transmission through optical communication link were demonstrated with this mission. ‘’This will help in realizing future advanced satellites,” Dr Sivan said.