Monday, December 19 2005 15:38 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Preparations are in the final stages for the launch of India's heaviest satellite, INSAT-4A from Kourou, French Guyana, on December 22.

The 3,080 kg INSAT-4A, the first satellite to be launched in the INSAT-4 series, carries 12 high power Ku-band transponders to meet the requirement of Direct-To-Home (DTH) television services, apart from 12 C-band transponders to augment the INSAT capacity for communication and DTH services.

The Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan is in readiness to take control of INSAT-4A soon after Ariane-5 places it in the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), the Indian Space Research Organisation said in a release.

In the following days after launch, MCF will conduct operations like orbit raising manoeuvres to take the satellite into the final 36,000 km circular Geosynchronous Orbit, the release said.

MCF will also carry out regular operations and control of the satellite during its service life.

The time for the INSAT-4A launch is fixed between 04.03 am and 4.31 am (IST) on Dec 22, the release said.