Friday,
May 9, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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GSLV places satellite in orbit
Launch of
GSLV-D2 at Satish Dhawan spaceport on Thursday. — PTI
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Sriharikota, May 8
India today took a major step to becoming global major in satellite launch when the prestigious geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV), carrying a communication satellite, today blasted off from here with clock-like precision. About 17 minutes after the majestic lift-off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in this Bay of Bengal island, telecast live and watched by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from his residence in New Delhi, the satellite was placed in the geosynchronous transfer orbit, sending a battery of scientists and technicians into rapture. “It’s hit the bull’s eye,” exulted ISRO Chairman K. Kasturirangan as he hugged and congratulated scientists, engineers and technicians at the mission control here as the giant 49-metre tall, 414-tonne rocket, powered by Russian cryogenic engines in the upper stage, soared into the azure sky like a blazing arrow.
PTI
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