isro

Isro has successfully launched the GSAT-6 communications satellite aboard the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) D6 from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

This is GSLV’s fifth developmental flight and the third to carry the cryogenic upper-stage (CUS).

GSAT-6′ orbit will be raised from geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) to the final circular geostationary orbit (GSO) by firing the satellite’s Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) in stages.

With a mass of 2,117kg, the GSAT-6 is designed to provide S-band communication services in the country.

"The rocket performed normally. This shows that our January, 2014 success with the cryogenic engine was not a fluke."

The GSAT-6 is orbiting the Earth with a perigee of 168km, and an apogee of 35,939km with an orbital inclination of 20.01° with respect to the equator, Isro said.

Isro chairman A S Kiran Kumar was quoted by the Times of India as saying: "We have understood the intricacies of a cryogenic engine.

"The rocket performed normally. This shows that our January, 2014 success with the cryogenic engine was not a fluke. Only numbers will demonstrate the reliability of the launches.

"GSLV will command its own market but for that we need more successful launches. As of now we have sent a 2t satellite and it has been successful, there is a good market for this."

Image: This was the second successful launch of GSLV using the indigenous cryogenic upper stage. Photo: courtesy of ISRO.