GSAT-2

GSAT-2
Organization	Indian Space Research Organisation Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation is an independent Indian governmental agency established in 1969 for the research and development of vehicles and activities for the exploration of space within and outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Headquartered in Bangalore...
Mission Type	Communications satellite Communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
Launch	May 8, 2003 on GSLV Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle is an expendable launch system operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation... -02
Launch site	Satish Dhawan Space Centre Satish Dhawan Space Centre The Satish Dhawan Space Centre is the launch centre for the Indian Space Research Organisation . It is located in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India, north of Chennai in South India. It was originally called Sriharikota High Altitude Range , and was sometime known as Sriharikota Launching Range...
Mission duration	3–5 years
Mass Mass Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...	1825 kg (launch)
Webpage	ISRO: GSAT-2
Orbit	GEO Geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit is a geosynchronous orbit directly above the Earth's equator , with a period equal to the Earth's rotational period and an orbital eccentricity of approximately zero. An object in a geostationary orbit appears motionless, at a fixed position in the sky, to ground observers...  at 47.95° E

GSAT-2 is an experimental communication satellite built by the Indian Space Research Organisation

Indian Space Research Organisation

The Indian Space Research Organisation is an independent Indian governmental agency established in 1969 for the research and development of vehicles and activities for the exploration of space within and outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Headquartered in Bangalore...

 (ISRO) and launched on one of the first GSLV

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle is an expendable launch system operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation...

s. The satellite was positioned at 48 deg east

48th meridian east

The meridian 48° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Madagascar, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....

 longitude in the geo-stationary orbit

Geostationary orbit

A geostationary orbit is a geosynchronous orbit directly above the Earth's equator , with a period equal to the Earth's rotational period and an orbital eccentricity of approximately zero. An object in a geostationary orbit appears motionless, at a fixed position in the sky, to ground observers...

.

GSAT-2 carried four C-band transponders, two K_u band transponders and a Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) payload operating in S-band forward link and C-band return link. Besides the communication payloads, GSAT-2 carried the following four piggyback experimental payloads:

• Total Radiation Dose Monitor (TRDM) to compare the estimated radiation doses inside the satellite with the directly measured radiation doses using a Radiation Sensitive Field Effect Transistor (RADFET)

• Surface Charge Monitor (SCM) to indicate the state of the charging environment in the vicinity of the spacecraft

• Solar X-ray Spectrometer (SOXS) to study the solar flare emission in 4 keV - 60 keV energy range using state of the art semiconductor devices and Phoswich Scintillation Detector

• Coherent Radio Beacon Experiment (CRABEX) to investigate the spatial structure, dynamic and temporal variations of Ionosphere and several aspects of equatorial electrodynamics

Weighing 1800 kg at launch, GSAT-2 incorporated a 440 newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) and sixteen 22 newton Reaction Control Thrusters for raising the satellite's orbit from Geo-stationary Transfer orbit to its final geo- stationary orbit as well as for its altitude control. It carried 840 kg of propellant (monomethyl hydrazine and MON-3

Mixed Oxides of Nitrogen

Mixed oxides of nitrogen are solutions of nitric oxide in dinitrogen tetroxide/nitrogen dioxide . It may be used as an oxidizing agent in rocket propulsion systems. A broad range of compositions is available, and can be denoted as MONi, where i represents the percentage of nitric oxide in the...

).

GSAT-2 measures 9.55 m in length in its final in-orbit configuration. It is 3-axis body stabilised using Sun and Earth sensors, momentum and reaction wheels, magnetic torquers and bi-propellant thrusters. Its solar array generates 1380 W power, backed up by two 24 A·h Ni-Cd batteries.

After its launch into Geo-synchronous transfer orbit by GSLV-D2, GSAT-2 it was taken to its final geo-stationary orbit by firing the liquid apogee motor in phases. After it reached the geo-stationary orbit, its antenna and solar Panels were deployed and the satellite was finally placed in its allocated slot of 48° east longitude.