Insat 4B now operational

[BGonaSTICK]

15th April 2007

A month after its ride into space aboard an Ariane 5, the Insat 4B satellite is now fully operational and will soon begin broadcasting direct-to-home (DTH) programming to India’s massive DTH market.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said Insat 4B is located in its final orbital location of 93.5 degrees East longitude. The $68 million Insat 4B carries 12-Ku and 12-C band transponders and has a life span of 12 years. Built by ISRO, Insat 4B is one of three DTH satellites that are fuelling the huge growth of India's young DTH industry. The 3,025 kilogram Insat 4B joins the in-orbit Insat 4A. Insat 4CR, another DTH satellite, will launch the middle of this year.

Insat 4B was launched by an Ariane 5 last March 12 from the European Space Center at Kourou, French Guiana. The two solar arrays of Insat-4B together generate 5,860 watts of electrical power.

ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair said ISRO is planning to launch Insat-4CR, a replacement of Insat-4C, by the middle of this year. Insat-4CR will allow ISRO to meet its clients' immediate requirements for DTH transponders. Insat-4C was destroyed on launch last year, one of ISRO's few failures.

Among ISRO’s major clients are DTH providers Reliance's Blue Magic, Bharti, Doordarshan's DD Direct and Sun TV's Sun Direct. All are in the race to acquire as many of the 24 Ku-band transponders on Insat 4B and Insat 4CR.

These DTH providers should need from 7-10 transponders each, said industry analysts. Each transponder is capable of providing between 15 and 30 channels depending on its frequency capacity. There are only two satellites with a pan-India footprint capable of providing the Ku band required for DTH services: Insat 4A and SES Global's NSS-6. Both satellites, however, have been cornered by TataSky (all 12 on Insat-4A), DD Direct (five on NSS-6) and Dish TV (seven on NSS-6).