2nd orbit raising manoeuvre of GSAT16 performed

The second orbit raising manoeuvre of the country's latest communication satellite GSAT-16 was successfully performed on Tuesday, Indian Space Research Organisation said. 

"The second orbit raising operation of GSAT-16 is successfully completed by firing the Apogee Motor for 2203 seconds, at 13:05 hrs (IST)," ISRO said on its website. 

A day after the successful launch of GSAT-16, its Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) was fired on Monday, in the first orbit raising manoeuvre. 

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The orbit of the satellite will be raised to Geostationary Orbit of about 36,000 km altitude through three orbit raising manoeuvres by firing of GSAT-16's LAM Engine. The satellite will be placed in the Geostationary Orbit by December 12. Subsequently, its communication transponders will be switched on for in-orbit testing, according to ISRO.

GSAT-16 will boost public and private TV and radio services, large-scale Internet and telephone operations. 

After its launch was deferred twice due to bad weather, GSAT-16 was placed in orbit by Ariane 5 rocket in the early hours on Sunday from the space port of Kourou in French Guiana.