INSAT-3E

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2023)

INSAT-3E

Mission type	Communications
Operator	INSAT
COSPAR ID	2003-047E
SATCAT no.	27951
Mission duration	10 years, 5 months, 5 days
Spacecraft properties
Bus	I-2K
Manufacturer	ISRO
Launch mass	2,775 kilograms (6,118 lb)
Dry mass	1,218 kilograms (2,685 lb)
Dimensions	2.0×1.77×2.8 metres (6.6×5.8×9.2 ft)
Power	2,400 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	27 September 2003, 23:14:46 (2003-09-27UTC23:14:46Z) UTC[1]
Rocket	Ariane 5G V162
Launch site	Kourou ELA-3
Contractor	Arianespace
End of mission
Disposal	Moved to a graveyard orbit
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geosynchronous
Regime	Geostationary (till 2014) Graveyard Orbit
Longitude	55° east (till 2014)
Periapsis altitude	35,764 kilometres (22,223 mi) (till 2014)
Apoapsis altitude	35,819 kilometres (22,257 mi) (till 2014)
Inclination	0.06 degrees
Period	23.93 hours
Epoch	30 October 2013, 02:33:58 UTC[2]
Transponders
Band	24 C band 12 Extended C band

INSAT 3E is a defunct communication satellite built by Indian Space Research Organisation. It was launched on September 28, 2003, from the European Space Agency's spaceport in French Guiana on board the Ariane rocket. The satellite had a launch mass of 2750 kilograms. It is the 4th satellite launched in the INSAT-3 series for INSAT. It was designed for providing high-speed communication, Television, VSAT & Tele-education services and was an important landmark in Indian Space Programme.

In April 2014, almost eleven years after being launched, the satellite ran out of oxidizer and a few days later, was decommissioned by the ISRO. A few days later, it was moved into a graveyard orbit.^[3]