The most advanced and powerful fourth generation communication satellite INSAT 4A was now closer to its space home in geostationary orbit after a successful second orbit raising manoeuvres carried out by Indian Space Research Organisation Saturday.

The satellite launched on December 22 from Kourou in French Guyana was currently orbiting the earth once every 22 hours 13 minutes after the critical second round of manoeuvres carried out by spacecraft controllers at the Master Control facility of ISRO at Hassan in Karnataka Saturday.

The satellite is expected to usher in a new revolution in Direct To Home television broadcasting in the country through its 12 Ku Band Transponders. It also has 12 C band transponders.

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The scientists fired the Liquid Apogee Motor on board INSAT-4A for 42 minutes raising the perigee (closest point to the earth) to 31,479 km. The apogee height remained at 36,008 km and the inclination of the orbit with respect to the equatorial plane has been reduced from 0.85 degree to the 0.12 degree.

The satellite was now in the continuous radio visibility of MCF.

The satellite came within the radio visibility of MCF Saturday morning at 0719 hrs and all the necessary operations like earth acquisition and gyro calibration were carried out before the second orbit raising manoeuvre was started.

The next exercise to place INSAT-4A in near geo synchronous orbit is planned on December 26, 2005. Deployment of the two solar panels and the two antennas would be carried out subsequently, ISRO said in a release in Bangalore.