ArianespaceAriane 5 GAriane Launch Area 3, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
INSAT-3E, eBird 1, SMART-1
Launched
September 27, 2003 · 23:14 UTC
Image: ESA/CNES/Arianespace
Summary
INSAT-3A launched on an Arianespace Ariane 5 G from Ariane Launch Area 3, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana on September 27, 2003 at 23:14 UTC. It was Arianespace's 156th launch, 4th this year and humanity's 4,620th orbital launch attempt. It was the 16th Ariane 5 G flight and the 3rd this year. The payload was bound for Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). Eurobird 3, one of 6 catalogued objects, reached a 677 × 35,770 km orbit inclined 6.9°. 6 objects from this launch are catalogued, 3 of them payloads.
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Vehicle
- Ariane 5 G · Arianespace
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Communications · Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO)
- Milestone
- 16th Ariane 5 G flight · 3rd this yearArianespace's 156th launch4th this yearhumanity's 4,620th orbital launch attempt44th orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Eurobird 3 · NORAD 27948 · 2003-043 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 6 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- E-BIRD
- Object ID
- 2003-043B
- Epoch
- 2003-09-27 18:29:18 UTC
- Mean motion
- 2.25083905 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.7134373
- Inclination
- 6.9121°
- Ascending node
- 169.6579°
- Arg. of perigee
- 177.5985°
- Mean anomaly
- 190.1359°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 1
- B*
- 0
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: GTO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
6 catalogued: 3 payloads, 1 rocket stage, 2 components; 4 still in orbit
- Eurobird 3 · NORAD 27948
- SMART-1 · NORAD 27949 · left Earth orbit July 9, 2004
- Insat 3E · NORAD 27951 · in orbit
Ariane 5 L516 EPS · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
INSAT-3A is a multipurpose satellite for providing telecommunications, television broadcasting, meteorological and search & rescue services. INSAT-3A payloads include Normal C-band transponders with expanded coverage from Middle East to South East Asia, Extended C-band transponders providing India coverage and Ku-band transponders providing India coverage. The satellite also carries one Data Relay Transponder (DRT) and one Satellite Aided Search and Rescue (SAS&R) payload. SAS&R payload has a global receive coverage with 406 MHz uplink and C-band downlink with India coverage for the relay of signals from distress beacons in sea, air or land.
Pad
Ariane Launch Area 3, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
17th launch from Ariane Launch Area 3, 3rd this year · 170th from Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Local pad time at liftoff: Sep 27, 8:14 PM GMT-3, at night
118 launches from this pad · 336 from Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
108 days after the previous launch from this pad
All launches from Guiana Space Centre, French GuianaOpen in maps
Questions
When did INSAT-3A launch?
INSAT-3A launched on September 27, 2003 at 23:14 UTC.
Where can I watch INSAT-3A?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched INSAT-3A?
Ariane 5 G, flown by Arianespace. Ariane 5 G spec sheet
Where did INSAT-3A launch from?
Ariane Launch Area 3, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana. Liftoff was Sep 27, 8:14 PM GMT-3 local time at the pad.
What orbit did INSAT-3A reach?
Eurobird 3, one of 6 catalogued objects, reached a 677 × 35,770 km orbit inclined 6.9°.
How many satellites did INSAT-3A launch?
3 payloads from this launch are catalogued, 1 of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).