GSLV-D2 to be launched on May 8

Tuesday, 06 May 2003, 19:30 IST
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BANGALORE: India's homegrown geo-synchronous satellite launch system will carry a heavy communication satellite on its second developmental test flight scheduled for May 8. The geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle, or GSLV-D2, will be launched from Sriharikota, about 100 km north of Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai. "The countdown for the launch will begin on May 7. We have a launch window open between 4.58 p.m. and 7.30 pm and we will have a go at 5 p.m.," K. Kasturirangan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told a news conference here Monday. Launch windows, or conditions suitable for the launch, would also be available on May 9 and 10 between 6.45 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) at Sriharikota. "A full dress rehearsal has been completed at the launch pad on Monday and all systems are undergoing final tests," Kasturirangan said. Kasturirangan and his team of project directors appeared relaxed before the launch of GSLV-D2, capable of carrying a payload of 1,825 kg, up from the 1,540 kg carried on the first developmental flight of the launch vehicle on April 18, 2001. The launch vehicle had then carried an experimental satellite called GSAT-1. The success of the forthcoming launch will revalidate various systems and serve as a significant step forward in operationalising the launch vehicle. The ability to launch heavier satellites would mean that India could consolidate its discussions with various agencies involved in the satellite launch vehicle business that want to collaborate with ISRO. Most agencies in this sector have the capacity to put into space satellites weighing over three tonnes. They, however, need India's cooperation to launch satellites weighing up to two tonnes because of The ISRO's cost-effectiveness. In anticipation of more launches, India is preparing a second launch pad at Sriharikota, which is expected to become operation by June. The next flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, scheduled for September, could be from this pad. The GSLV-D2 will put into space GSAT-2, an experimental communication satellite that will be positioned in geo-stationary orbit. The satellite has four C-band transponders, two Ku-band transponders and a mobile satellite service (MSS) payload. The GSLV-D2 will also carry four experimental payloads, including a solar X-ray spectrometer to study solar flare emission and a coherent radio beacon experiment to investigate the ionosphere. The third developmental vehicle of GSLV, or GSLV-D3, will be ready for launch in 2004-05, Kasturirangan said. India will also launch the GSLV-Mark2 that can carry satellites weighing 2.5 tonnes. The GSLV-Mark3, scheduled to be ready by 2007, is designed to launch the INSAT-4 series of satellites
Source: IANS