The first critical orbit-raising manoeuvre on INSAT-4A, India's most advanced and powerful communication satellite successfully launched onboard an Ariane vehicle from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana on Thursday, was conducted at 0624 hrs Friday morning.

First Look: INSAT-4A blasts off

The 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor onboard INSAT-4A was fired for 85 minutes by commanding the satellite from the Master Control Facility at Hassan, Karnataka. With the LAM firing, INSAT-4A's perigee (closest point to earth) had been raised to 13,733 km, apogee (farthest point to earth) to 36,008 km and the inclination of the orbit with respect to the equatorial plane reduced from four degree at the time of launch to 0.85 degree now. The orbital period was 15 hours 16 minutes, Indian Space Research Organisation said in a release.

All systems on board the satellite were functioning normally. The satellite would go out of MCF visibility at about 1333 hrs and come within its visibility at 0717 hrs on Saturday. More orbit raising manoeuvres are planned in the next few days, the release said.

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