India to launch communication satellite GSAT using its heaviest rocket

India will be launching, on June 5, communication satellite GSAT-19 using its heaviest rocket which has a capacity to lift a four ton satellites to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO), the Indian space agency said on Tuesday.

According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle - Mark III (GSLV-Mk III) is scheduled to be launched on June 5 at 5.28 p.m.

The rocket in its first developmental flight will carry communication satellite GSAT-19 weighing 3,136 kg as it blasts off from the second launch pad at the rocket port in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

The GSLV-MK III-D1 is a three-stage vehicle with two solid motor strap-ons, a liquid propellant core stage and a cryogenic stage (C25).

GSAT-19 carries Ka/Ku-band high throughput communication transponders.

Besides, it carries a Geostationary Radiation Spectrometer (GRASP) payload to monitor and study the nature of charged particles and the influence of space radiation on satellites and their electronic components.

GSAT-19 also features certain advanced spacecraft technologies including miniaturised heat pipe, fibre optic gyro, Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) accelerometer, Ku-band TTC transponder, as well an indigenous Lithium-ion Battery.