The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched CMS-01, its 42nd communication satellite on Thursday, at 3.41 pm IST. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C50 (PSLV-C50), the rocket lifted-off from the second launch pad (SLP) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The satellite has successfully placed into orbit.
Dr K Sivan, ISRO Chairman said, “Satellite is functioning very well and will be placed in a specified slot in another 4 days. Teams worked very well and safely under COVID-19 pandemic situation,”.
The CMS-01 satellite is the first in a new series of communication satellites that India is going to launch after the GSAT and INSAT series. CMS-01 will replace the ageing GSAT-12 satellite, which was supposed to serve for seven years but it ended up serving a life span of nine years. The expected mission life of CMS-01 is supposed to be seven years or more. According to ISRO, the satellite will provide telecom services in the Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum. Its coverage area includes the Indian mainland, Andaman-Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands.
This is the second space mission from this rocket port and third for the country this year. The rocket weighs 320 tonnes. It is a four-engine expendable rocket, which is powered by solid and liquid fuels alternatively with six booster motors strapped on to the first stage to give higher thrust during the initial flight moments. On Thursday it was the 77th launch mission from Sriharikota spaceport. Also, this is the second launch this year after the launch of PSLV-C49, which placed all-weather earth imaging satellite EOS-01 and nine other foreign satellites in orbits on November 7.
The ISRO Chairman said the PSLV-C51 launch is going to mark a new era of space reforms in India and hoped that the private sector would be able to make use of this programme and will do the best to provide services to the entire country.
 has successfully launched CMS-01, its 42nd communication satellite on Thursday, at 3.41 pm IST.){kind=link}