Wednesday, December 21 2005 19:18 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: If things go as planned, India's new generation INSAT-4A satellite would be shot into space by an Ariane rocket from Kourou in French Guiana early tomorrow giving a major push to direct-to-home television services in the country.

Ariane 5 generic vehicle with dual-satellite payload, INSAT-4A and meteorological spacecraft MSG-2 of Europe is slated for lift-off during a 28-minute launch window that starts at 04.03 am Indian Standard Time. Telecommunications satellite INSAT-4A is the first satellite to be launched in the INSAT-4 series. Weighing 3080 kg at life-off, it's the heaviest satellite of Indian Space Research Organisation so far.

It carries 12 high-power Ku-band transponders to meet the requirement of DTH television services apart from 12 C-band transponders to augment INSAT capacity for communication and DTH services, ISRO officials said.

Tata-Sky, the joint venture of the Tatas and the Rupert Murdoch-owed STAR Group, has booked all 12 Ku-band transponders on the satellite.

Preparations for the mission entered their last phase today after the completed Ariane 5 emerged from the final assembly building and was rolled out to the spaceport's ELA-3 launch complex. The launch profile calls for Ariane 5 to deploy the INSAT-4A into geostationary transfer orbit at just over 29 minutes into the mission, followed some seven minutes later by release of the MSG-2, Arianespace officials said.