South Asia satellite is scheduled for launch by ISRO at 4:57 pm tomorrow from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikotta, some 90 kilometres north of Chennai. ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar said at Chennai Airport this morning that preparations for the launch are going on smoothly in the second launch pad of the space port.
In the regional communication satellite project, all the countries in the SAARC region barring Pakistan are participating.
The satellite weighs 2230 kilogram during lift off. It is also known as the GSAT-9, having an operational life of more than 12 years.
Each of the participating nations will be getting at least one Ku-band transponder, out of the total 12 transponders integrated in the geosynchronous payload.
It is the first ever satellite to be launched by India for the benefit of the whole of the South Asian region in its outreach for better regional connectivity. For the GSLV launch vehicle, this will be the eleventh flight and its fourth consecutive lift off with the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage.
