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Next generation satellite Insat-3B ready for launch

The first of the third generation Multipurpose Indian Communication Satellite Insat-3B is ready for transhipment to Kourou in French Guyana from where it will be launched in the middle of March, director of Indian Space Research Organisation Satellite Centre Dr P S Goel said Thursday.

The satellite, which would augment the transponder capacity by adding 12 extended C-Band transponders and three KU-band transponders besides a Mobile Satellite Service transponder, would be launched by the new Ariane five launcher of the European Space Agency.

Addressing an International Telecommunications Union Task Force Group on emission interventions and frequency spectrum management, Dr Goel said the five satellites in the INSAT-3 Series would increase the transponder availability to 135 by 2002-2003. The demand for transponders would increase to 500 by 2007, he added.

Dr Goel highlighted the need for India utilising the space services for communication purposes in view of the predominantly rural based society.

Besides INSAT, the country would also go in for new class of satellites - GSats -- to augment the communication transponder capacity, he said.

UNI

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