The third orbit-raising manoeuvre on INSAT-4CR was successfully conducted at 4:35 am Indian Standard Time (IST) this morning (September 5, 2007) with the firing of the 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) on board for 3140 seconds by commanding the satellite from Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka. With this LAM operation, INSAT-4CR perigee has been raised to 15,994 km. The apogee is at 35,385 km and the inclination of the orbit with respect to the equatorial plane has been reduced from 11.1 deg to 3.24 deg now. The present orbital period is 15 hours 52 minutes. The orbital parameters achieved are as planned.
It may be recalled that INSAT-4CR was successfully launched by GSLV-F04 on September 2, 2007 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. Subsequently, MCF acquired the signals from the satellite and conducted initial phase operations on INSAT-4CR.
All systems on board the satellite are functioning normally. The next Orbit Raising Manoeuvre is planned around 12:30 pm IST on September 6, 2007.
