ISRO carries out first orbit raising manoeuvre of GSAT-14

Bangalore: The first orbit raising operation of GSAT-14 communication satellite was successfully carried out by ISRO on Monday, a day after it was shot into space in a milestone launch by GSLV-D5 rocket powered by the indigenous cryogenic engine.

The Apogee Motor on the spacecraft was fired for 3,134 seconds with a realised orbit of 8,966 km Perigee, nearest point to earth, by 35,744 km Apogee, the farthest point to earth, Indian Space Research Organisation said. ISRO said the remaining two orbit raising operations are planned on January 7 and 9 to place the satellite in geostationary orbit. The indigenous cryogenic upper stage was successfully flight tested on GSLV-D5 launch vehicle from the spaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh yesterday, a feat that put India in the exclusive club of the US, Russia, France, Japan and China, which have mastered the cryogenic engine technology. With the successful mission of GSLV-D5 that demonstrated India`s prowess to put satellites weighing more than two tonnes in orbit, ISRO has lined up more GSLV flights powered by indigenous cryogenic engines to launch GSAT-6, 7A and 9, GISAT (Geo Imaging Satellite) and Chandrayaan-2.