Insat-3E in intermediate orbit

Monday, 29 September 2003, 19:30 IST
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BANGALORE: India's exclusive communication satellite Insat-3E has been placed in the intermediate orbit following commands from the Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan, 240 km from here. The MCF, which acquired the satellite 30 minutes after its launch from Kourou in French Guiana Sunday, has reported that all systems on board the 2,775-kg satellite are functioning normally. In the first critical orbit-raising manoeuvre, the perigee or the closest point to the earth of the satellite has been raised from 649 km (at the time of the launch) to 14,970 km Monday morning. The apogee or the farthest point to the earth remains at 35,900 km. A statement from the Indian Space Research Organisation said that the MCF would lose the visibility of the satellite in the afternoon and regain it again around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Source: IANS