India's heaviest communications satellite is scheduled to be launched into orbit this week from an island off the coast of southeast Andhra Pradesh state, an ISRO official said Sunday.
"Preparations for the launch of INSAT-4C are proceeding satisfactorily," said space agency spokesman S. Krishnamurthy.
"As per the present progress, the launch is expected to take place around 4:30 p.m. (local time) Monday," he said. "A lot depends on the weather conditions, too."
The 2,168-kilogram (2.4 ton) satellite, designed for a mission life of 10 years and meant to boost television services, will be launched by an Indian rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota and placed in stationary orbit.
The 49-meter (161-foot) rocket, last used in 2004, includes Russian-made cryogenic control systems with locally-built equipment. India's space agency is trying to increase its launch capacity beyond four tons.
K.R. Sridhara Murthi, executive director of Antrix Corp., the commercial arm of the Department of Space, said his outfit was waiting for "one or more successful launch of the rocket."
"Only then we can go in for more vigorous marketing," Murthi told AFP of India's ambition to capture part of the global launch market.
India has nine other communication satellites with a total of 175 transponders in operation making it the largest domestic communication satellite system in the Asia-Pacific region and the world's biggest civilian cluster of remote-sensing satellites.
The country says its space program is aimed at developing practical technology and plans to send an unmanned probe to the Moon in two or three years.
