ISRO Ready To Place CMS-01 Communication Satellite In Orbit With Next Launch On December 17

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has scheduled its next rocket launch for Thursday, December 17, on which day the space agency will send its CMS-01 communication satellite into orbit. The launch will take place at 3.41 pm IST from the Second Launch Pad (SLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota.

The launch date has been set after two delayed attempts on December 8 and 14, following the original launch date of December 7. Now, the CMS-01 satellite as well as the launch vehicle have been moved to the launchpad in preparation for the launch day. The launch, however, is still subject to weather conditions, ISRO has said.

CMS-01 will be onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C50), which will mark the 22nd flight of the PSLV in the 'XL' configuration. This would also be the 52nd PSLV flight in total. As for the launch centre, ISRO added that this will be the 77th launch vehicle mission from SDSC.

Payload CMS-01

ISRO

Formerly named GSAT-12R, CMS-01 will serve as the 42nd communication satellite by India. The communication satellite will replace the ageing GSAT-12 satellite launched in 2011 and will provide services in Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum, including the Indian mainland, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands.

Upon take-off, the CMS-01 will be ejected by the PSLV-C50 into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) about 20 minutes into its flight. From there, the satellite will be positioned at the GTO for a total mission life of seven years.

Rocket PSLV-C50

ISRO

Based on the orbit to be reached as well as the weight of the satellite, ISRO will use the PSLV in 'XL' configuration, meaning that the rocket will have six strap-on motors during the first stage. The 44-metre-high PSLV-C50 is a four stage expendable rocket powered by solid and liquid fuels alternatively.

The six booster motors at the first stage are meant to provide higher thrust during the initial flight moments. Other variants of the PSLV are also available, with four, two and even no strap-on motors during the initial stage.

A report by IANS cites ISRO Chairman K. Sivan mentioning the subsequent launches by the Indian space agency. As per the ISRO chief, the PSLV-C50 rocket launch will be followed by the launch of the new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-F10 (GSLV). The former will carry the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-02) while the latter will ferry the EOS-3 satellite into orbit. GISAT and Microsat-2A are other two Indian satellites that are ready for launch.

(With inputs from IANS)