TIL Desk/National/Sriharikota/ India on Thursday successfully put into orbit its latest communication satellite GSAT-6A after a perfect launch of its powerful geosynchronous rocket that will help in mobile communication even from very remote locations through hand-held ground terminals.
Scripting yet another success for the Indian Space Research Organisation, the 49.1 metre Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F08), fitted with indigenously developed cryogenic engine at the third stage, lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 4.56 pm and soared majestically into the clear sky at the end of the 27-hour countdown.
The satellite, with a mission life of about 10 years, would provide a thrust to mobile communication through multi-beam coverage facility, the ISRO said. It is expected to be a shot in the arm for the armed forces. In a text-book launch, about 18 minutes later, the rocket injected the GSAT-6A into the geostationary transfer orbit as ISRO scientists broke into celebrations at the mission control centre.
