Insat 4A heralds a DTH revolution

Press Trust of India
The successful launch of the advanced Insat 4A satellite from Kourou spaceport in French Guiana on Thursday is likely to usher in a revolution in the fledgling direct-to-home television broadcasting services. According to officials of the Indian Space Research Organisation, Insat4A has a 12-Ku band transponder to accommodate 150 channels. That is, the satellite with very high power of 52 dbw can be accessed through small 0.6 meter diameter dish antennas from anywhere in India.

"Compared to earlier satellites, this communication satellite has been provided with very high power, and therefore people can get 150 channels with the help of small 0.6 meter diameter dish," the official explained. At present a DTH box costs around RS 2,500, but with the small dish antenna this can come down drastically, say experts.

At present, Doordarshan and a private channel are jointly offering DTH services in India by using the NSS-6 satellite. The Ariane-5g rocket launched a rocket that soared majestically at 4.03 am IST as planned and minutes after liftoff placed Insat 4A in the geosynchronous transfer orbit in 3-axis stabilised mode, drawing cheers from Arianespace and Isro officials.

Tata-Sky, a joint venture of the Tatas and the Rupert Murdochowned Star group, has booked all the Ku-band transponders on the RS 350-crore satellite. Isro paid an additional $50 million to Arianespace, the European commercial launch services provider, as launch cost. The Master Control Facility at Hassan in Karnataka acquired the first signals from Insat 4A, which has a design life of 12 years, at 4.32 am, and the initial checks on thesatellite indicated normal health of the spacecraft, which is expected to become operational by the end of next month, Isro officials clarified.

Insat 4A, which would provide coverage over the Indian subcontinent, is being tracked, monitored and controlled by MCF and, in the coming days, it would be manoeuvred to its final geostationary orbit, which is 36,000 km above the equator, by firing its 440 newton liquid apogee motor (lam). The satellite, which has two deployable antennas and one fixed antenna for various transmit and receive functions, would be positioned at 83 degree east longitude as spacemates to Insat-2E and Insat-3B, officials said.