MUMBAI: At 3:04 this morning, Arianespace’s A5 rocket blasted off from its launch pad in Kouru, French Guiana with its payload of two satellites Arabsat 6B (BADR7) and GSAT-15. The former found its slot in space 27 minutes later, while the latter attained its Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) 43 minutes after launch.  It was a flawless launch on a perfect evening, said officials from ISRO and Arianespace.

India’s satellite control centre at Hasan in Karnataka is in control of the satellite  at the time of writing and maneuvres over the next three days will see it attaining its geo-stationary orbit at 93.5 degrees East. It will be replacing two ageing satellites Insat3A and Insat 4B.

GSAT-15 has 24 Ku-band transponders to serve the needs of DTH and satellite TV operators over India as well as  VSAT operators who provide DSNG operations to news channels. It  also carries the  GPS-Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands,  to enable communications for civil aviation and other location-based services.

Speaking from Kouru ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) Director M Annadurai said two other  communication satellites GSAT-17 and GSAT-18 are getting ready for launch by an Ariane vehicle in the next year. “The realisation of both the satellites is in a very advanced stage,” he said.