The next domestic communications satellite, GSat-12, will lift off from the Sriharikota launchpad on July 15, according to ISRO.
The launch is expected to modestly prop up the national transponder capacity by 12 in the extended C band, largely to maintain ongoing basic broadcasting and telephone services.
Currently facing an unprecedented capacity crunch, ISRO shrank the satellite size in order to send it on the PSLV as a contingency measure.
GSat-12 will weigh 1,410 kg, compared to around 2,000 kg which Indian satellites normally weight.
It will be launched on the smaller PSLV rocket (this one is numbered C-17) that usually puts smaller earth imaging satellites in pole-to-pole orbits.
Lower lifespan
As it will be placed in a temporary orbit lower than that for normal INSATs, it will also use up more fuel on board to move into the destined slot; this also reduces its lifespan to around five years — half of a normal Insat's. Last year it lost two regular comsats on two consecutive failures of the home-grown GSLV rocket.
They were to replace satellites that are nearing the end of their tenure of normally 10-12 years.
As a result, barely 100 of the 175 transponders come from national INSAT satellites. The rest are leased on foreign satellites that are placed over the region. The launch is slated to take place between 4.48 p.m. and 5.08 p.m.
A release from the agency said pre-launch tests and preparations were going on well at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. On July 3, GSAT-12 would be mated with the PSLV rocket after clearance of the Launch Authorisation Board. On July 10, it would be moved to the second launch pad, LP II, ahead of the July 13 countdown.