GSAT-31 satellite successfully launched
Bengaluru: India's latest communication satellite GSAT-31 was successfully put into orbit in the early hours of Wednesday by a European rocket from French Guiana, in a mission that is expected to enhance connectivity for ATMs and provide for uninterrupted DTH services.
Blasting off from Ariane Launch Complex at Kourou, a French territory located in the northeastern coast of South America at 2.31 am (IST), the Ariane-5 vehicle of the European launch services provider Arianespace injected the "high power" satellite into the orbit in a perfect flight that lasted about 42 minutes.
With a mission life of 15 years and weighing about 2,536 kg, GSAT-31 is the country's 40th communication satellite to be built by the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) and will provide continuity to operational services on some of the in-orbit satellites.
"It gives me great pleasure on the successful launch of GSAT-31 spacecraft onboard Ariane-5," ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) Director S Pandian said at Kourou soon after the launch.
"Congratulation to Arianespace on the successful launch and precise injection of the satellite into the orbit," he added.
The GSAT-31 is a "high power" communication satellite with Ku-band, and it is going to serve and replace some of the satellites that are going to expire soon, he said.
Arianespace CEO St phane Isra l tweeted: "2019 is off to a roaring start for #Arianespace! Flight #VA247, carrying Saudi Geostationary Satellite 1/Hellas Sat 4 and GSAT-31, is a confirmed success that underscores our leadership position in the geostationary launch market. @KACST #HellasSat @ISRO @LockheedMartin."
The Ariane-5 vehicle (Flight VA247) also carried Saudi Geostationary Satellite 1/Hellas Sat 4 along with GSAT-31.
The Indian satellite, which will provide communication services to Indian mainland and islands, will also augment the Ku-band transponder capacity in Geostationary Orbit, ISRO said.
It will be used for supporting VSAT networks, Television uplinks, Digital Satellite News Gathering, DTH-television services, cellular backhaul connectivity and many such applications.
The satellite will also provide wide beam coverage to facilitate communication over the vast oceanic region, comprising large parts of Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, using a wideband transponder.
According to ISRO, two Ku-band beacon down link signals are transmitted by the satellite for ground tracking purpose.
"GSAT-31 has a unique configuration of providing flexible frequency segments and flexible coverage," ISRO chairman K Sivan said.
GSAT-31 will provide Direct-to-Home(DTH) Television Services, connectivity to Very Small Aperture Terminal(VSATs) for Automated Teller Machine(ATM), Stock-exchange, Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) and e-governance applications, he said.
