Communication satellite GSAT 11 reaches Kouru for launch in May

Indian multi beam high throughput communication satellite GSAT 11 has reached the European spaceport of Kouru in French Guiana for a scheduled launch during the second half of May on-board Ariane 5 dual payload launcher during flight VA243.
The 5.87 tonne GSAT 11 might be perhaps the last Indian communication satellite through an acquired foreign launcher according to ISRO sources. Meanwhile ISRO said that the first orbit raising operation of GSAT 6A launched
by GSLV-F08 on Thursday had been carried out successfully by firing the LAM engine for 2188 seconds on Friday. The satellite was now orbiting the earth once in 12 hrs 45 minutes, the apogee and perigee height was changed to
36412 km and 5054 km respectively after the first maneuvering operations. The inclination of the satellite was11.93 degrees and this would be brought to 0 degrees finally.
The spacecraft controllers at the Master Control Facility in Hassan would be firing the LAM on two more occasions to take the satellite to its intended orbit of 36,000 km before it was nudged to its space home of 83 degrees
east longitude. GSAT 11 would provide multi-spot beam coverage over the Indian mainland and nearby islands, bringing significant advantages to the user community when compared with India’s existing INSAT/GSAT satellite systems. With its new system architecture and cutting-edge technology elements, GSAT-11 will generate a capacity of more than 12 Gbps for users from a single platform.
Operating in Ku and Ka band the satellite employed a new 1-6k bus platform. It provides 32 user beams in Ku band and 8 hub beams in Ka band. The commercial pay load included Ka x Ku Band forward link transponders and Ku xKa band return link transponders.