NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 2000-016B
INSAT 3B was an Indian geosynchronous communications spacecraft that was launched by an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou at 23:29 UT. The 2,070 kg (with fuel), 1.7 kW, triaxially stabilized spacecraft carried 12 Ext-C-band (15 W), and three Ku-band (55 W) transponders for rural educational and health service programs receivable by the thousands of VSATs (Very Small Aperture Terminals) in India, and a single S-band mobile satellite service (MSS) transponder for relaying voice, data, and facsimilies from/to mobile telephones with suit case sized "terminals", after parking over 83 deg-E longitude. On 28 March, it was moved from the transfer orbit to the geosynchronous orbit and its solar arrays were deployed by the Master Control Facility in Hasan, located in southern India.
Launch Date: 2000-03-21
Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5
Launch Site: Kourou, French Guiana
Mass: 2070 kg
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office