ISRO to launch communication satellite GSAT-7A from Sriharikota today

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch on Wednesday GSAT-7A, a geostationary communication satellite, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota. The 26-hour countdown for its launch began yesterday as the Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle GSLV-F11 is scheduled to lift-off at 4.10 pm from the second launch pad at the spaceport of Sriharikota. The newest satellite will provide communication capability to users in Ku-band over the Indian region, ISRO said adding that the mission life of the GSAT-7A is eight years. The GSLV-F11 will inject GSAT-7A into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and it will be placed in its final Geostationary Orbit using the onboard propulsion systems. GSLV-F11 is ISRO’s fourth generation launch vehicle with three stages. The four liquid strap-ons and a solid rocket motor at the core form the first stage of the launch vehicle, while the second stage is equipped with high thrust engine using liquid fuel, ISRO said. The Cryogenic Upper Stage forms the third and final stage of the vehicle. This will the seventh launch of 2018 from Sriharikota which marks the 69th mission of GSLV-F11 for ISRO. On November 14, ISRO had launched its heaviest satellite from Indian soil. The heavy-lift GSLV Mk III rocket, ISRO’s most powerful rocket to date, launched the GSAT-29, a communication satellite weighing 3423 kg, into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. Source: Indian Express