Preliminary health checks of the satellite revealed its “normal” health, Bengaluru headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.
“After a flight of 32 minutes and 28 seconds, GSAT-18 separated from the Ariane 5 upper stage in an elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 251.7 km and an apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 35,888 km, inclined at an angle of six degree to the equator,” ISRO said.
President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minster Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO on the successful launch of GSAT 18.
“Congratulations to @isro for successfully launching the communication satellite, GSAT-18. This is another milestone for our space programme,” Modi said in a tweet.
“Hearty congratulations to ISRO on successful launch of communication satellite, GSAT-18 #PresidentMukherjee,” the official twitter handle of President of India said.
Complimenting Arianespace for the “textbook” launch, ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar said, “GSAT 18 is an important satellite for us that will enable the continuity of the vital communication services in our country by replacing the currently ageing satellites.
GSAT-18 is the 20th satellite from ISRO to be launched by
the European space agency and the mission is the 280th for Arianespace launcher family.
ISRO, which has been dependent on Ariane-5 rocket for carrying its heavier satellites, is developing GSLV Mk III for this purpose.
