INSAT-4A was the first one in the

INSAT The Indian National Satellite System or INSAT, is a series of multipurpose geostationary satellites launched by ISRO to satisfy the telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology, and search and rescue operations. Commissioned in 1983, INSAT i ...

-4 Satellites series, providing services in the K_u and C band frequency bands. At the time of launch, it was the heaviest satellite India had produced. The K_u transponders cover the Indian main land and C-Band transponders cover an extended area. It has a dozen K_u transponders and another dozen of C-band transponders. This spacecraft was placed at 83°E along with INSAT-2E and INSAT-3B, by Ariane launch vehicle (ARIANE5-V169).

Overview

INSAT-4A was a communication satellite intended for providing high quality television, telecommunication, broadcasting services and was the first satellite to be launched in the INSAT-4 series.

Launch

INSAT-4A was launched by an Ariane 5, produced by

Arianespace Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It undertakes the operation and marketing of the Ariane programme. The company offers a number of different launch vehicles: the heavy ...

, on 21 Dec 2005 at 22.33 UTC from

Kourou Kourou () is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It i ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

. It was placed into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), 30 minutes after lift-off in 3-axis stabilized mode, with a

perigee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ell ...

of 859 km and an

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ell ...

of 36,055 km. Its co-passenger on board was Meteosat-9 of

EUMETSAT The European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) is an intergovernmental organisation created through an international convention agreed by a current total of 30 European Member States. EUMETSAT's primary ...

Payload

*12 K_u band transponders. It was being used by

Tata Sky Tata Play (stylised as TΛTΛ PLΛY, formerly TΛTΛ , sky) is an Indian direct broadcast satellite (DTH) service provider using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT-4A and GSAT-10 satellite. Incorporated in 2005; i ...

. *12 C-band transponders

End Of Life and Replacement

The satellite was placed in the graveyard orbit on 21 October 2019 after almost 14 years in service. A replacement satellite

GSAT-30 GSAT-30 is a telecommunications satellite developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Mission The satellite's main communication payload is 12 Ku band transponders for covering Indian mainland and islands and 12 C-band tran ...

was launched on 21:05 UTC, 16 January 2020 aboard Ariane 5 VA251.

References

{{Orbital launches in 2005 Spacecraft launched in 2005 Communications satellites in geostationary orbit INSAT satellites 2005 in India