GSAT-14 is an Indian
communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth ...
launched in January 2014. It replaced the
GSAT-3 satellite, which was launched in 2004. GSAT-14 was launched by a
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk.II, which incorporated an Indian-built cryogenic engine on the third stage.
Satellite
GSAT-14 is part of the
GSAT
The GSAT (Geosynchronous Satellite) satellites are India's indigenously developed communications satellites, used for digital audio, data and video broadcasting. As of 5 December 2018, 20 GSAT satellites of ISRO
The Indian Space Research Organ ...
series of satellites. Constructed by
ISRO
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman o ...
, it is based around the I-2K
satellite bus
A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held.
Bus-derived satellites are opposed to specially produced satellites. Bus- ...
, and has a dry mass of . With fuel, its mass is . The spacecraft has a design life of 12 years.
The satellite carries six
Ku-band and six Extended
C-band transponder
In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''.
In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...
s to provide coverage of the whole of India. The satellite is expected to provide enhanced broadcasting services over the GSAT-3 satellite. GSAT-14 also carries two
Ka-band beacons which will be used to conduct research into how weather affects Ka-band satellite communications. Fibre optic gyro, active pixel sun sensor, round type bolometer and field programmable gate array based earth sensors and thermal control coating experiments are new technologies which were flown as experiments in the satellite. The satellite is powered by two
solar array
A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and ...
s, generating 2,600 watts of power.
Launch
A launch attempt on 19 August 2013, with a planned liftoff at 11:20 UTC (4:50 pm
local time), was scrubbed following a reported second stage fuel leak. While the probe for the failure to launch was in progress, ISRO had decided to replace the liquid second stage (GS-2) with a new one.
[ Deccan Herald 13 September 2013] In the process, all the four liquid strap-on stages were replaced with new ones.
The satellite was launched from the
Second Launch Pad of the
Satish Dhawan Space Centre
Satish Dhawan Space Centre - SDSC (formerly Sriharikota Range - SHAR) is a rocket launch centre ( spaceport) operated by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is located in Sriharikota, Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. Sriharikota ...
, atop a
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk.II (GSLV Mk.II) rocket at 10:48 UTC (16:18 local time) on 5 January 2014.
The 29-hour countdown began on 4 January 2014.
The flight marked India's forty-first satellite launch, the eighth launch of a GSLV, and the second flight of the Mk.II variant, whose maiden flight with
GSAT-4 had failed in 2010. It ended a run of four consecutive GSLV launch failures which began with
INSAT-4C in 2006.
The launch marked the first successful flight test of the
CE-7.5
The CE-7.5 is a cryogenic rocket engine developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation to power the upper stage of its GSLV Mk-2 launch vehicle. The engine was developed as a part of the Cryogenic Upper Stage Project (CUSP). It replaced the ...
, India's first cryogenically fuelled rocket engine.
References
External links
ISRO Future ProgrammesGSAT-14 ISRO official websiteGSAT-14 Satish Dhawan Space CentreGSAT-14 Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
{{Orbital launches in 2014
GSAT satellites
Spacecraft launched in 2014
2014 in India
Spacecraft launched by GSLV rockets