Indian Space Program Launches Massive Communications Satellite

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) recently launched their heaviest-ever communications satellite, yet another one of India's advancements in space technology over the past few years.

The launch took place on Sunday at the Satish Dhawan Space Center, located in the town of Sriharikota in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The spacecraft is known as CMS-03 or GSAT-7R, and is the heaviest satellite that India has ever launched from their soil– weighing a staggering 9,722 pounds (4,410 kilograms).

Meanwhile, the launch was conducted using a Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) rocket, colloquially known to Indians as "Bahubali" because of its sheer size– the rocket stands at 142.7 feet high (43.5 meters) and weighs around 705 tons (640 tonnes).

Around 16 minutes after being launched at 5:26 pm local time, the rocket released the satellite into geosynchronous orbit, meaning that its orbit takes the exact same amount of time as a day on Earth.

The satellite serves primarily for military communications purposes, particularly the Indian Navy, and it contains complex systems like advanced transponders and multi-band communications which enable faster, more efficient communication and prevent atmospheric and positioning errors. The new spacecraft will take over from an old Indian satellite, GSAT-7, and should have a lifespan of around 15 years.

However, the launch is a bigger achievement than it appears to be. The weight of CMS-03 is actually larger than the LVM3's maximum payload for geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) missions, but efficiency improvements by ISRO allowed the team to flawlessly launch the satellite into space, on time, without needing any additional attempts or fixes.

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Image credit to ISRO