spacetoday.net: GSLV launches communications satellite

Posted: Fri, Aug 28, 2015, 9:08 PM ET (0108 GMT)
GSLV launch of GSAT-6 (ISRO)

India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) launched a communications satellite on a mission that the country's space agency demonstrated the performance of the rocket's upper stage. The GSLV lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 7:22 am EDT (1122 GMT, 16:52 Indian time) and placed the GSAT-6 communications satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit 17 minutes later. The satellite, weighing 2,117 kilograms at launch, carries a payload of C- and S-band transponders, including a 6-meter deployable antenna for mobile applications to serve "strategic users." The launch was the second consecutive GSLV flight to successfully use a domestically-developed cryogenic upper stage, a milestone the space agency ISRO says ends years of difficulties in developing the stage and demonstrating its effectiveness.