INSAT-3C satellite of ISRO, which was launched by Ariane on January 24, 2002 from Kourou in French Guyana, has been successfully placed in its final geo-stationary orbit and located at 74 deg East longitude.

It may be recalled that, after the injection of the satellite into geo-stationary transfer orbit by Ariane launch vehicle, orbit-raising manoeuvres were carried out from Master Control Facility (MCF), Hassan, by firing the 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor of the satellite to place it in the geo-stationary orbit. At the end of these manoeuvres on January 30, 2002, the satellite was located at 63 deg East longitude and it was drifting towards its designated orbital slot. In this drift orbit, deployment of antennas and solar panels of the satellite was carried out on January 31, 2002 and it was placed in three-axes stabilised mode on February 1, 2002.

In the last four days, station acquisition manoeuvres were successfully conducted from MCF, Hassan, by firing the 10 Newton Reaction Control Thrusters on board to position the satellite precisely at 74 deg East longitude. INSAT-3C will be maintained in this location for the rest of its service life.

In the coming weeks, the payloads comprising 24 C-band transponders, six extended C-band transponders, two S-band transponders and the mobile satellite service transponders will be tested before INSAT-3C is commissioned in to service by the end of February 2002.