It will be women power to the fore at the Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan when T.K. Anuradha, Pramodha Hedge and K.S. Anuradha lead the critical activities that would help in taking the GSAT-12 from its present sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit to the circular geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 36,000 km.
Commands will be given from the MCF to the satellite for circularising its orbit, which at present is elliptical. The PSLV-C17 put GSAT-12 in orbit on Friday.
Ms. T.K. Anuradha, Project Director, GSAT-12, said every launch was a challenge but this mission was a bigger challenge because the Indian Space Research Organisation needed 12 C-band transponders immediately. “We could not afford to go wrong or allow any system to malfunction in this mission.”
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Moreover, her team had to pack the power systems and reaction control systems, among others, in a small bus in the satellite. “We had to put everything in a small area. It is like building a big bungalow on a small plot of land.”
Next 5 days crucial
The coming five days would be crucial. Commands would be given to circularise the GSAT-12's orbit. “The satellite's antenna will also be deployed. It will be a major event,” she said.
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The Mission Director at the MCF will be Ms. Pramodha Hegde and the Operations Director, Ms. K.S. Anuradha.