India took another step towards bolstering its power in satellite technology today with the successful launch of the indigenously built Insat-3C from Kourou in French Guiana early today morning.
Fight 147, carrying the Indian Space Research Organistion‘s (Isro) 2750 kg Insat-3C, lifted off at 05:17 am (IST). After a last-moment hold-up, the Ariane 4 lifted off from the ELA-2 launch complex and released the 2,750-kg multi-mission spacecraft 22 minutes later. The success was the world‘s first commercial flight of the new year.

Insat-3C will provide vital telecommunications services for the Indian subcontinent, operating with a multi-mission payload of 30 C-band transponders, 2 S-band transponders and a transponder dedicated to mobile communications.

The satellite has been placed in its intended Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit, in a 3-axis stabilised mode, with a perigee of 570 km and an apogee of 35,920 km and an inclination of 4 deg. with respect to the equator. The satellite is at present going round the earth with an orbital period of about 10.5 hours. The satellite will finally be positioned at 74? east longitude.

The Insat Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka, which is tracking, monitoring and controlling Insat 3C, acquired the telemetry signal from Insat-3C at 5:47 am IST. The initial health checks on the satellite indicate that the performance of the satellite is normal, according to the agency. First operations on the satellite were carried out by issuing commands from the MCF. The outermost panel of the stowed solar array on the south side of the satellite was oriented towards the sun to start generating the electrical power required by the satellite during its transfer orbit phase. Subsequently, the earth viewing face was oriented towards earth and calibration of the gyros on board the satellite has been carried out.

During the initial phase of the operation, MCF will utilise Inmarsat Organisation‘s ground stations at Beijing (China), Fucino (Italy) and Lake Cowichan (Canada). The satellite‘s orbit is being precisely determined by continuous ranging from the participating Telemetry Tracking and Command (TTC) stations, the agency says.

In the coming days, orbit raising operations on Insat-3C will be carried out by firing the 440 Newton liquid apogee motor on board in stages till the satellite attains its final geo-stationary orbit, about 36,000 km above the equator. The satellite has about 1.5 tonne of propellant (Mono-Methyl Hydrazine - MMH and Mixed Oxides of Nitrogen - MON-3) for orbit raising operations as well as for station keeping and in-orbit attitude control. The on orbit fuel availability will enable maintaining the satellite for operational services for a period of 12 years.

When the satellite reaches near geo-stationary orbit, deployment of the two solar panels and the two antennas will be carried out and the satellite put in its final 3-axis stabilised mode. The payloads will be subsequently checked out before the commissioning of the satellite.

Insat-3C is the second satellite of the Insat-3 series; the first satellite, Insat-3B was launched in March 2000. Another three satellites Insat-3A, Insat-3D and Insat-3E will be launched in the coming years, Isro says.

HBO scored big at the 2002 Golden Globe awards which were shown live on Star World early Monday morning. The network grabbed six awards from its 19 nominations. NBC had 15 nominations and ABC had 11. ABC nabbed three wins while Fox and TNT took home one each.

Best Drama series went to HBO‘s ‘Six Feet Under‘. The comedy series went to `Sex and the City‘ with Sarah Jessica Parker also getting recognised. In the category supporting actor series, miniseries or movie made for television Stabley Tucci won for HBO‘s tense drama ‘Conspiracy which tells the story of a conference Germany had during World War II.

‘Band of Brothers‘ won in the category of miniseries or movie made for television. Executive producer Tom Hanks accepted the award with co-producer Steven Spielberg. HBO‘s gangster saga ‘The Soprano‘s‘ went home empty handed as did ‘Wit‘ its film with Emma Thompson battling cancer.

As far as the remaining networks were concerned the winner of the Globe for Best actor in a television series - Drama was Kiefer Sutherland for his work in Fox‘s 24. Best actress in a mini-series or motion picture made for television went to Judy Davis for her performance in ‘Life with Judy Garland: Me and my shadows‘. In India the film was aired on the Hallmark channel.

Best actor in a mini-series or motion picture made for television. was James Franco who played the title role in TNT‘s ‘James Dean‘. Best performance by an actress in a television series - drama went to Jennifer Garnet for ABC‘s new show ‘Alias‘.

Following the events of 11 September security was tight. For the first time, streets around the venue Merv Griffin‘s Beverly Hilton Hotel were closed off. Stars exited their limos, passed through a metal detector, and had their bags searched. Airspace over the hotel was also restricted that day. Not taking any chances the FBI was present on the scene.

Insat 3C will finally be launched tomorrow by an Ariane 4 rocket from the European spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana. The long delayed event will be telecast live by Doordarshan (DD1) from 3.45 am. The launch is scheduled at 4.23 am IST.
According to Indian space agency Isro, all the launch preparations for the indigenously built Insat 3C have been completed at the launch site. The 2,750 kg spacecraft reached Kourou on 4 December 2001 and has since undergone extensive electrical and mechanical tests. It has now been integrated with the Ariane 4 launch vehicle of Arianespace, the space agency that is partnering Isro in the venture.

Isro‘s Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka meanwhile has been fully prepared to take control of INSAT-3C as soon as it is launched into its geostationary tranfer orbit.

Arianespace officials meanwhile say that final countdown operations for its first mission of the year are now underway following the launch readiness review, which was conducted on Tuesday at the Spaceport. The review verified the "go" status of the Ariane 4 vehicle, its INSAT 3C satellite payload, the launch infrastructure at the Guiana Space Center, and the downrange tracking stations that will follow the mission‘s trajectory. Flight 147 will use an Ariane 42L version of the Ariane 4 launcher family, which is equipped with two liquid strap-on boosters added to the first stage for additional thrust during liftoff and initial ascent.

INSAT 3C has been developed and assembled by Isro, and will be placed at an orbital position of 74 deg East (over the Indian Ocean). INSAT 3C will carry 24 C-band, six extended C-band and two S-band transponders and a Mobile Satellite Service Transponder operating in S-band up-link and C-band down link frequencies, Isro officials say. It will provide telecommunications and TV coverage over the Indian subcontinent via the transponders on board.

The spacecraft will be the eighth Indian satellite orbited by Ariane launchers. The relationship between Arianespace and Isro dates back to the Ariane launch in June 1981 when the first Indian satellite, Apple was launched.

Balaji Telefilms seems set to continue its winning streak with a clutch of new serials this year, three of which will premiere on Zee and Sony within the next two months.

The production house is making its first daily comedy for Zee that will be aired some time from March 2002 in the 7:30 pm slot. Also in the pipeline is a ‘woman oriented soap‘ to be aired in the 8 pm slot on Zee in April 2002. But the first new show of the year from the Balaji stable will launch on Sony mid-February and will be a daily afternoon show. This is scheduled to be a regular family drama in the Balaji tradition, although the cast could be fresh this time, says CEO Sanjay Dosi.

The company says it is also launching a daily soap on Udaya TV in February 2002. Close on the heels of its promising Q3 results, Balaji has also announced it had hiked its rates 35 per cent for shows airing on Star Plus. Dosi says the rate hike is effective 1 January, 2002 for all four Balaji shows that are on air on Star currently.

Furthering an announcement it had earlier that it was discontinuing programming on national broadcaster Doordarshan, Balaji said it is also ending a programme for SABe TV and one programme on Vijay TV in the coming quarter.

While 21 of Balaji‘s shows continued to remain in the top 30 shows in the satellite market, the share of commissioned revenues increased from 66 per cent to 76 per cent in the quarter just ended. The share of commissioned programmes rose to 268 hours as against sponsored programmes that dipped to 144.5 hours this quarter. Fresh regional programming on the other hand saw a marked increase from 130 hours to 180 hours over the previous quarter.

The company stock meanwhile hit a new 52 week high of Rs 469 today during intra-day deals, boosted by the impressive Q3 performance. The company that has forecast a 50 per cent growth in bottomline for the next year, opened at Rs 428.45, closed at Rs 442.70.