GSAT–7, India’s First Defence Satellite, Successfully Placed in the Geosynchronous Orbit

India’s advanced multi-band communication satellite GSAT-7, and was launched from Kourou, French Guiana.

As per ISRO’s website, GSAT-7 is an advanced communication satellite built by ISRO to provide wide range of service spectrum from low bit rate voice to high bit rate data communication. GSAT-7 Communication payload is designed to provide communication capabilities to users over a wide oceanic region including the Indian land-mass.

GSAT-7 was placed in the Geosynchronous Orbit after successfully completing the last of the three orbit-raising manoeuvres commanded from ISRO’s Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan. Later, on the same day, the communication antennae of GSAT-7, including the UHF Helix antenna, were deployed successfully. Thereafter, the GSAT-7 was put in its final orbital configuration, stabilised on its three-axis by the momentum wheels.

It is an advanced communication satellite that will help by providing low bit rate voice to high bit rate data communication. Payload of the GSAT–7 is designed to provide communication capabilities to users in distant oceanic regions. Its solar arrays generate 2900 W of electrical power.

Geosynchronous Orbit is also abbreviated as GSO. It is the orbit around Earth which has the orbital period of one sidereal day or around 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds. This sidereal day matches the Earth’s sidereal rotation period.

Reference and further reading;

ISRO

Indian Remote Sensing Satellite

Image credit: ISRO Website