India's 42nd communications satellite which will help in disaster management and internet connectivity was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Thursday in the agency's second successful mission during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ISRO's reliable workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, performed flawlessly on its 52nd mission with the CMS-01 satellite, lifting off at 3:41 pm from the second launch pad at the spaceport of Sriharikota.
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Around 20 minutes later, the satellite was placed into orbit and ISRO chairman Dr K Sivan announced the mission was a success.
The satellite is functioning "very well", he told scientists from the Mission Control Centre, adding the solar panels of the satellite, a crucial operation, have been deployed.
"I am extremely happy to declare that the PSLV-C50 successfully injected CMS-01 communication satellite precisely into the predefined sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. In another four days from now, the satellite will be placed into the specified slot into the GTO," he said.
Dr Sivan said the satellite is going to function as a replacement for communication satellite GSAT-12 which was launched 11 years ago.
CMS-01 hopes to provide services in the Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum covering India, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands, officials said. It will have a lifespan of over seven years, according to ISRO.
Congratulating the space agency's launch and satellite vehicle teams, the chairman said, "I am sure that this satellite will be doing all the functions as planned successfully."
Outlining ISRO'S future missions - Chandrayaan-3, flagship mission Aditya L-1 and Gaganyaan - he said they were planning to have missions at the earliest.
Thursday's follows the successful launch of PSLV-C49 (EOS-01) earth observation satellite and nine private spacecraft on November 7 which was ISRO's first mission of the year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
