GSAT-14 is an Indian

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Rad ...

launched in January 2014. It replaced the

GSAT-3 GSAT-3, also known as EDUSAT, was a communications satellite which was launched on 20 September 2004 by the Indian Space Research Organisation. EDUSAT is the first Indian satellite built exclusively to serve the educational sector. It is mainly ...

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 manufactured by the ISRO, Indian Space Re ...

series of satellites. Constructed by

ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), overseen by the Prime Minister 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 less customized than specially-produced satelli ...

, 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 The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally ), because it is the lower part of the original NATO K 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 The Ka band (pronounced as either "kay-ay band" or "ka band") is a portion of the microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The designation "Ka-band" is from Kurz-above, which stems from the German word ''kurz,'' meaning "short". There ...

beacons which will be used to conduct research into how weather affects Ka-band satellite communications. Fibre optic gyro, active pixel

Sun sensor A Sun sensor is a navigational instrument used by spacecraft to detect the position of the Sun. Sun sensors are used for Spacecraft attitude control, attitude control, solar array pointing, gyroscope, gyro updating, and safe mode (spacecraft), fai ...

, 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 called a 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 abs ...

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 the primary spaceport of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), located in Sriharikota, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh. The spaceport is located on an isl ...

, 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 GSAT-4, also known as HealthSat, was an experimental communication satellite, communication and navigation satellite, navigation satellite launched in April 2010 by the Indian Space Research Organisation on the maiden flight of the Geosynchronous ...

had failed in 2010. It ended a run of four consecutive GSLV launch failures which began with

INSAT-4C INSAT-4C was an Indian communications satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 2006. Had it reached orbit, it would have formed part of the Indian National Satellite System. Launched in 2007, it was intended to have operated in geostationary ...

in 2006. The launch marked the first successful flight test of the CE-7.5, India's first cryogenically fuelled rocket engine.

References

External links

ISRO Future Programmes

GSAT-14 ISRO official website

GSAT-14 Satish Dhawan Space Centre

GSAT-14 Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
{{Orbital launches in 2014 GSAT satellites Spacecraft launched in 2014 2014 in India Spacecraft launched by GSLV rockets