Bangalore, Aug 28: Less than five months after the launch of Insat-3A, India's another communication satellite, Insat-3E, is now scheduled to be hurled into space onboard European Space Consortium Arianespace's Ariane 5G rocket early today, Indian Space Research Organisation sources said. "Insat-3E's launch is scheduled for early today," sources in the bangalore-headquartered India's Space Agency told a news agency.

The flight 162 from the South American spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana is slated to launch Insat-3E, meant for telecom and TV coverage, and two other payloads --Eutelsat's E-bird and European Space Agency's Smart-1, Arianespace sources said. Insat-3E's scheduled launch comes around four-and-half months after the successful launch of Insat-3A on April 10.

According to isro officials, Insat-3E will carry 24 C-band transponders and 12 extended C-band transponders and, when commissioned, would substantially enhance the Insat system capacity, which now provides about 120 transponders in different bands.

Insat-3E, which would weigh 2,750 kgs at lift-off, has already been transported to the launch centre in Kourou, where it would be tested in detail. While e-bird is meant for internet applications, Smart-1 has a mission pertaining to advanced research and technology test-bed for the first european moon mission.

Bureau Report