News, September 2003, www.aljazeerah.info
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Advanced Satellite Launched
Nilofar Suhrawardy
Arab News
NEW DELHI, 29 September 2003 — Signaling a major step forward for the Indian space program, the country’s exclusive communication satellite — INSAT-3E was successfully launched from Kourou in French Guyana yesterday.
Congratulating space scientists on the successful launch of the satellite, Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said: “The entire country is happy and proud of this achievement.” He expressed his hope that the launch would strengthen the country’s space and communications programs.
INSAT-3E was injected into space by the European Ariane 5 G rocket about 30 minutes after it took off from Kourou.
Soon after it went into orbit, the master control facility of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) at Hassan in Karnataka received the first signals from the spacecraft, ISRO officials said.
After witnessing the launch, ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair described it as “normal” and said “it (Ariane 5) has put INSAT-3E into precise orbit.” Nair took over as the ISRO chief a month ago from Dr. K Kasturirangan, following his nomination to the Rajya Sabha.
Nair said: “We hope we will be able to complete the remaining operations and make it a grand success for the national program.”
The launch had been delayed twice to allow extra checks on the INSAT-3E after an alert from a Japanese manufacturer of components.
The launch of the 2,775-kg (6,105-pound) satellite, which has 24 transponders that receive radio signals, is aimed at boosting India’s participation in the global communications market.
ISRO plans three satellite launches a year. The Indian Cabinet this month approved an ambitious plan to send an unmanned mission to the Moon by 2008, budgeting $83 million for the project.
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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