SRIHARIKOTA : The South Asian Satellite’ or GSAT-9 to be launched by ISRO, is all set zoom into the space on a heavy duty GSLV-F09 rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre here tomorrow evening.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISR) sources said fuel filling operation was completed even as the 28-hour countdown for the launch began at 12.57 pm today.
Dubbed as the gift for cooperation among the South Asian countries, barring Pakistan, the 2230 kg satellite will provide various telemetry services to India’s neighbours like Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and other states could be added later, if needed, an ISRO official today said.
The rocket will be launched from the second launch pad at SDSC from the crescent shaped island of Sriharikota overlooking Bay of Bengal at 16.57 hrs tomorrow.
The name of the satellite was changed after Pakistan refused to come on board on the cooperative space mission that helps South Asian countries on telecommunication and DTH services, forecasting natural disasters, telemedicine and meteorological findings.
The satellite will have mission life of over 12 years. The launch vehicle GSLV-F09 is Mark-II version carrying cryogenic upper stage and is the 11th flight of GSLV. The launch vehicle GSLV-F09 is about 50m tall and is the fourth consecutive flight with the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS).
The launch of this satellite was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ and he had said ”It will go a long way in addressing South Asia’s economic and developmental priorities.”
The first announcement of launching this satellite was made by the Prime Minister during 2014. The satellite built by ISRO at its Satellite Centre, Bengaluru, and has 12 Ku-band transponders. It is cuboid in shape and built around a central cylinder. (AGENCIES)
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