The Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday launched the country's heaviest satellite on board its heaviest launch vehicle yet - the GSLV MkIII D-1.
The launch took place exactly at 5.28 p.m. as planned from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The satellite was placed in an initial orbit of perigee (closest point to Earth) 170 km and apogee (farthest point from Earth) 35,975 km.
The satellite, GSAT-19, which is expected to enhance the communication infrastructure of the country, was placed in its initial orbit 16 minutes after lift-off from the second launch pad at Sriharikota.
The satellite is the country's heaviest, weighing at 3,136 kg. This successful launch will enable India to launch four-tonne satellites in the future. Previously, heavy satellites were launched from launchpads abroad, such as the one in French Guiana.
What made this launch unique was that the GSLV carried an indigenous cryogenic engine that fired in the third stage, before shutting down as per plan and placing the satellite in orbit. ISRO officials said this was an "out and out indigenous engine". Earlier versions of the GSLV carried indigenous engines as well, but they were based on Russian designs.
The cryogenic stage performed to perfection. It ignited at about 5 minutes and fired for another 11 minutes. Mission Control monitored the cryogenic stage throughout this process and broke into applause once the cryo stage shut off successfully.
As the satellite was placed into its orbit, another big round of applause went out in the Mission Control centre. ISRO Chairman, A.S. Kiran Kumar congratulated his team for the manner in which the launch took place seamlessly.
The GSAT-19 carries Ka/Ku-band high throughput communication transponders. It also carries a Geostationary Radiation Spectrometer (GRASP) payload to monitor and study the nature of charged particles and the influence of space radiation on satellites and their electronic components, according to ISRO.
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