India's latest communication satellite INSAT-4C would be launched by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, about 80 km from here, tomorrow.
The GSLV would lift off with the 2168 kg INSAT-4C, the heaviest in its class, at 4 PM tomorrow, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G Madhavan Nair told reporters at the airport here last night.
"The preparations for the launch are going on satisfactorily. A rehearsal was held and the results were good", he said on arrival here enroute to Sriharikota.
This is the first launch of the GSLV from the Rs 350 crore state-of-the-art launch pad commissioned in May 2005.
The 49-metre-tall, 414 tonne GSLV is a three stage vehicle. The first stage, GS1, comprises a core motor with 138 tonne of solid propellants and four strap-on motors, each with 42 tonnes of hypergolic liquid propellant.
The second stage has 39 tonne of the same hypergolic liquid propellant. The third (GS3) is a cryogenic stage with 12.6 tonne of liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2).
INSAT 4C, the second satellite in the INSAT 4 series, would give a boost to Direct-to-Home television services, video picture transmission and digital satellite news gathering. It will also provide space for National Informatics Centre's VSAT connectivity.
The satellite is designed for a mission life of 10 years.
Soon after its injection into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit by GSLV, the solar panels of INSAT 4C will be deployed.
In the coming days, the satellite would be manoeuvred to its 36,000 kms high geosynchronous orbit and would be co-located with INSAT 3C and Edusat at 74 degree east longitude.
Of the INSAT transponders, 30 each have been allocated to Department of Telecommunications, private television channels and VSAT and 21 have been allocated for tele-medicine and tele-education purposes.