ISRO successfully launches India’s heaviest communication satellite CMS‑03

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday successfully launched Indian Navy’s GSAT 7R (CMS-03) communication satellite from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

India’s LVM3 launch vehicle was used to launch the communication satellite in its 5th operational flight (LVM3-M5). The previous mission of LVM3 launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission, where India became the first country to land successfully near the lunar south pole.

This would be the most advanced communication satellite for the Indian Navy. The satellite would strengthen the Navy’s space-based communications and maritime domain awareness capabilities.

The mission lifespan of the satellite will be 15 years. The satellite was placed in geosynchronous transfer orbit.

The indigenously designed satellite is India’s heaviest communication satellite till date, weighing approximately 4,400 kg, and includes many indigenous state-of-the-art components developed specifically to meet the Indian Navy’s operational requirements.

GSAT 7R will provide robust telecommunication coverage across the Indian Ocean Region. Its payload includes transponders capable of supporting voice, data, and video links over multiple communication bands. This satellite will significantly enhance connectivity with high-capacity bandwidth, enabling seamless and secure communication links between ships, aircraft, submarines, and Maritime Operations Centres of the Indian Navy.

The launch vehicle was fully assembled and integrated with the spacecraft and was been moved to the launch pad on October 26 for further pre-launch operations.

LVM3 is a three-stage launch vehicle consisting of two solid propellant S200 strap-ons and core stages comprising of L110 liquid stage, C25 cryogenic stage, the equipment bay and the encapsulated assembly. A cryogenic ignition stage is the final stage of a rocket that uses super-cold liquid propellants like liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, which are kept at extremely low temperatures.

ISRO Chairman Dr V Narayanan said, “LVM3-M5 has successfully placed the satellite in the geosynchronous orbit. Today’s mission has brought an important glory to India. In today’s mission all the vehicles and systems performed satisfactorily. All the launches by LVM3-M5 have been successful.”

Narayanan informed the satellite is a multi-band communication satellite and is designed to perform communication services for 15 years.

“We had a challenging time as weather was not cooperative. Even in this difficult weather condition, we successfully achieved the mission in a grand manner,” the chairman added.

Mission director T Victor Joseph said that for the first time ISRO carried out the reignition of the cryogenic engine.