ISRO's GSAT-17 communication satellite set to take off from French Guiana Thursday

New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to launch its GSAT-17 communication satellite from French Guiana on Thursday, the third launch in less than a month.

As per ISRO, the GSAT-17 is scheduled to lift off at 2:29 hrs IST on June 29, 2017, onboard Ariane-5 launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.

GSAT-17 satellite configured around I-3K extended bus with a lift-off mass of about 3,477 kg.

The satellite carries payloads in normal C-band, extended C-band and S-band to provide various communication services. It also carries equipment for metereological data relay and satellite based search and rescue services being provided by earlier INSAT satellites.

Earlier this month on June 5, ISRO had launched its advanced communication satellite GSAT-19, weighing 3,136 kg, using its most powerful and heaviest geostationary rocket 'GSLV Mk III-D1' from Sriharikota.

Last week, the Indian space agency launched another bunch of satellites, including the country's sixth eye in the sky - Cartosat -2 series remote sensing satellite – along with 30 nano satellites onboard PSLV-C38.

The June 23's mission was the second highest number of satellites to be launched by the ISRO using a single rocket.

On February 15, 2017, ISRO added another cap to its already flooding feather after it launched a record 104 satellites in a single flight. The PSLV-C37 successfully carried and deployed all satellites, including the primary payload Cartosat-2D, in sun-synchronous orbits.