“Naughty boy has now been transformed into the most adorable boy.”

India,August,27: India has crossed another milestone in the field of space research and technology. On Thursday, the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) had launched its first 2,000-kg-plus satellite, GSAT 6 on a launch vehicle, (GSLV) D6 powered by an indigenous engine at 4:52 PM from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at the spaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

The successful launch was preceded by a 29 hour countdown which began on Wednesday at 11:52 am on Wednesday after the Mission Readiness Review (MRR) committee and Launch Authorization Board (LAB) cleared the starting of the countdown.

Second success after failure: This success was followed by a preceding failure of ISRO’s first cryogenic engine-“The Cryogenic Upper Stage” (CUS), in April 2010.The ISRO had been successful in January,2014, after an aborted attempt in August 2013.

Reactions: This launch of GSLV-D6 placed in orbit GSAT –the 2117 kg satellite, was termed “flawless” by the ISRO’s managers.Describing the launch as an"Onam gift", Mission Director R Umamaheswaran said the 'naughty boy' (cryogenic stage) has now been transformed into the 'most adored boy of the ISRO'.He added,“ISRO has offered an Onam gift... a reliable launch vehicle with our own Made in India cryogenic stage... which can launch 2-2.5 tonne class satellites". It is a milestone not only for the ISRO but the whole of India. 

Benefits: Aimed at primarily benefiting the country's strategic users and other specific authorised users. What goes unnoticed is the military capabilities of the communication satellite and for television, telephone, radio and internet with S-band and C-band transponders that cover the entire country.Also spot beams exploit the frequency reuse scheme to increase frequency spectrum utilization efficiency.

The successful launch of getting the cryogenic engine right is important for India's future space programmes. A cryogenic engine is more efficient as it provides more thrust for every kilogram of propellant burnt. This lead India to cross a bigger milestone and show her power to the rest of the world.