March 8, 2007 

Preparations are in final stages for the launch of ISRO's latest satellite, INSAT-4B, on board Ariane-5 ECA launch vehicle from Kourou, French Guyana. The launch window for the Ariane-5, carrying INSAT-4B and its co-passenger, Skynet 5A, of EADS Astrium, is fixed between 03:55 am and 04:28 am Indian Standard Time on March 11, 2007.

INSAT-4B is the second satellite to be launched in the INSAT-4 series. INSAT-4B carries 12 high power Ku-band transponders and 12 C-band transponders to augment the capacity for Direct-To-Home (DTH) television services apart from augmenting the INSAT capacity for other communication and television services.

The Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka is in readiness to take control of INSAT-4B soon after Ariane-5 places it in the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) of 250 km x 35,886 km. In the following days after launch, MCF will conduct orbit raising manoeuvres to take the satellite into the final 36,000 km circular Geosynchronous Orbit followed by deployment of solar arrays and antennas. INSAT-4B will be positioned at 93.5 degree East longitude along with INSAT-3A. This will be followed by in-orbit test of the communication payloads. MCF will also carry out regular operations and control of the satellite during its service life.

Live Transmission: Live Transmission of INSAT-4B launch from Kourou, French Guyana will be available for Indian TV channels to relay the programme to their viewers. Details of live transmission are as follows:

Date	Sunday, March 11, 2007
Time	3:30 am to 5:15 am
(Test Transmission 12:55 am to 1:25 am)
Satellite	Asiasat-2
Location	100.5 deg. E
Transponder	7A
Channel	4
Downlink	3913 MHz
Polarisation	Vertical
Symbol Rate	6.1113
FEC	3/4
Kind of Signal	9 MHz, DVB, PAL