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Satnews Daily
August 19th, 2013

India—Countdown For GSAT-14 Underway (Launch)



Photo of India's Sriharikota launch center.
[SatNews] A 29-hour countdown began on Sunday for the crucial launch of India's GSLV-D5.

Powered by an indigenous cryogenic upper stage engine, which is being tested after a failed attempt more than three years ago, this launch will carry communication satellite GSAT-14 from Sriharikota spaceport. The rocket carrying the 1,982kg. satellite should be launched at 4:50 p.m. on Monday from the second launchpad at Indian Space Research Organisation's Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

India needs cryogenic engines for GSLVs for carrying heavy payloads of up to five tons, which are crucial for future telecommunication and space exploration. India's current successful PSLVs can carry payloads only weighing up to 1.5 tons to geosynchronous transfer orbit. GSLV-D5, which will have a flight duration of 17 minutes and eight seconds, is the eighth flight of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle and the fourth developmental flight.

The mission assumes more significance as the indigenously developed cryogenic upper stage (CUS) will be flight tested for the second time by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The previous flight test of the indigenous cryogenic stage in the GSLV-D3 mission failed on April 15, 2010. Also, the next GLSV flight with a Russian cryogenic stage also ended in failure in December of 2010.

GSAT-14 will help provide many satellite based communication services to the country including tele-education and telemedicine. The main objectives of the GSAT-14 mission is to augment the in-orbit capacity of Extended C- and Ku-band transponders and to provide a platform for new experiments. The GSLV-D5 with a lift off mass of 414.75 tons is 49.13 metres long and has three stages.