India launches latest communication satellite CMS-01 on board PSLV C-50 from Sriharikota

Sriharikota: India successfully launched its latest communication satellite CMS-01 on board its Polar rocket from the spaceport in Sriharikota on Thursday, the second and last launch this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.ISRO's trusted polar satellite launch vehicle — PSLV-C50 — injected the satellite into the predefined orbit around 20 minutes after the lift-off from the second launch pad at the spaceport of Sriharikota.The satellite is functioning "very well", ISRO Chairman K Sivan said. The solar panels of the satellite, a crucial operation, have been deployed, he said,addressing scientists from the Mission Control Centre."I am extremely happy to declare that the PSLV-C50 successfully injected CMS-01 communication satellite precisely into the predefined sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. In another four days from now, the satellite will be placed into the specified slot into the GTO," he said.Sivan said the satellite is going to function as a replacement for communication satellite GSAT-12 which was launched 11 years ago. CMS-01 will have a lifespan of over seven years, according to ISRO.Congratulating the space agency''s launch and satellite vehicle teams, the chairman said "I am sure that this satellite will be doing all the functions as planned successfully."Outlining ISRO''S future missions — Chandrayaan-3, flagship mission Aditya L-1 and Gaganyaan — he said they were planning to have missions at the earliest. These included the much-awaited GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) and SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle) missions."Series of missions are on hand and as usual team ISRO will rise to the occasion..," he said.PSLV-C50 is the 22nd flight of PSLV in ''XL'' configuration (equipped with six strap-on motors), and it was the 77th launch vehicle mission from Sriharikota, about 120 km from Chennai.It follows the successful launch of PSLV-C49 (EOS-01) earth observation satellite and nine customer spacecraft on November 7 which was ISRO's first mission of the year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Thursday's launch is the last one of 2020 for ISRO.