The Ariane five generic launch vehicle, carrying Indian communication payload INSAT-4A, today moved to the ELA-3 launch zone of the European spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana, as preparations for the pre-dawn lift off Thursday entered the final phase.

The sixth and final launch of the Ariane vehicle will take place between 0403 and 0433 hours Thursday, Indian Space Research Organisation sources told UNI in Bangalore.

• INSAT-4A ready for launch on December 22

Besides the 3,080 kg INSAT-4A, the heaviest of the INSAT class of satellites, Ariane will also launch MSG-2 Meteosat spacecraft for Europe. INSAT-4A will be the first to be separated from the top stage of the launch vehicle about 30 minutes after the launch.

The satellite, aimed to usher in a new revolution in Direct-to-Home television transmission in the country, carried 12 high Power Ku Band transponders and 12 C Band transponders.

The satellite, which will be hurled into space at an altitude of 2,011 km, will be put into a geosynchronous transfer orbit.

The satellite controllers at the Master Control Facility of ISRO in Hassan, Karnataka will then take control of the satellite and carry out a series of manoevres to place the satellite in its space home of 83 degrees east longitude in the geostationary orbit.

The satellite is expected to become operational about a month after the launch.