India‘s next generation communication satellite Insat-3C, which was scheduled for launch on 11 September on an Ariane 5, is likely to be lifted into orbit only in late November instead of September as earlier scheduled.

There has been speculation over what would happen to the Insat-3C launch after Ariane 5‘s Flight 142, launched on 12 July, failed to achieve proper orbit.

A seven-member probe team instituted by Arianespace after the launch failure identified combustion instability during upper stage engine ignition as the source of Flight 142‘s malfunction. The origin of the combustion instability was attributed to an unfavourable hydraulic dynamic coupling between the propellant feed system and the internal fluid cavities of the combustion chamber.

The upper stage malfunction, which occurred during Flight 142‘s final propulsion phase, resulted in the mission‘s dual satellite payload being delivered to a lower than expected orbit, the probe team concluded.

Arianespace has set a comprehensive recovery plan to address the upper stage malfunction and now expects to return Ariane 5 to commercial service by late November. This represents a delay of two months compared to the original launch manifest and will cause relatively minor schedule implications for the remainder of 2001 and early 2002, an official release states .

Insat-3C, which has 30 transponders, will be catering to the growing demand for V-SATs (very small aperture terminals) and broadcast services in the country.

The 1,170 kg Insat-3C will provide fixed satellite services (FSS) in the normal and extended C-bands, as also broadcast satellite services and mobile satellite services in the S-band.

Insat-3C will replace India‘s current workhorse, Insat-2C, whose capacity would be transferred to the new bird. Insat-2C is expected to reach the end of its seven-year life span in another six months.

The next launch schedule for Arianespace (flight 143) originally set for 24 August has now been rescheduled to 30 August. An Ariane 4 4L launcher is putting an Intelsat 902 communications and television satellite into orbit.

REMOTE SENSING DATA POLICY ANNOUNCED IN PARLIAMENT:

It was announced in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) that India plans to develop high resolution imaging satellites in the near future.

The government has approved and adopted a comprehensive Remote Sensing Data Policy (RSDP) for the acquisition and distribution of satellite remote sensing data - from Indian and foreign satellites for civilian users in India. The policy comprehensively covers guidelines for satellite data acquisition and distribution in the country and also for licensing the IRS capacities to other countries. Department of Space (DOS) will be the nodal agency for implementing the policy.

As per the policy, government permission is required for operating a remote sensing satellite from India and also for distribution of satellite images in India. The National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) has been identified as the national acquisition/distribution agency for all satellite data within India and has been allowed to enter into agreements for any foreign satellite data distribution in India. Antrix Corporation (of DOS) is identified to license IRS capacities outside of India.

The policy has safeguards for ensuring that images of sensitive areas are screened out, so that national security interests are protected. In particular, the policy streamlines the distribution of high-resolution data to Government users; private users involved in developmental activities with government and other private/academic/foreign users.

Yet another family drama targeted at the Indian housewife (or should that be North Indian housewife) hits the small screen today with the launch of "Kangan" on Star Plus.

And the Star India team has chosen a novel way to make the public aware of what exactly is happening. Keeping in mind the "women-centric" nature of the serial, teams are fanning out in the ladies compartments of local trains that every day bring commuters into Mumbai‘s business districts. Gold-plated "kangans" (chunky bangles) are being distributed to the women passengers as a one-day promotional exercise. "Kangan" is the heavy bangle that North Indian women wear after marriage and is normally a family heirloom the mother-in-law gifts to the daughter-in-law.

Star has been using ad stickers on the walls of Mumbai‘s local trains for advertising its serials but this is the first time that they are attempting to get their message across by actually meeting passengers.

The weekly family drama, produced and directed by yesteryear‘s actress Asha Parekh through her Akruti Productions, will air every Thursday at 9:30 PM

Modi Entertainment Network (MEN) Television was in the process of working out a plan to increase ad sales for the French channel Fashion TV CEO Rajan Kaaicker said, a day after being served a legal notice by B4U Television Network chief distribution officer Debashish De for breach of contract over a distribution and marketing agreement the two parties had signed.

B4U‘s contract with Fashion TV runs till 2005 and the deal signed between FTV and MEN on 9 August was illegal, De has said therefore the notice. Henceforth, both B4U Entertainment (soon to be B4U movies) and B4U Music would be handled by the network itself, De said.

Putting forth MEN‘s position in the matter, Kaaicker said FTV had terminated its agreement with B4U over two months previously and the approach for a deal had been initiated by FTV. MEN was just one among a number of major players it had approached for a tie-up, Kaaicker While admitting that he had received a legal notice from B4U he said MEN had in no way violated any of the terms of its contract with the network and added that his lawyers would be filing a suitable response in due course. Kaaicker said that in fact it was B4U that was in breach of contract because MEN had honoured its part of the bargain in full and would continue to do so.

On what the agreement with FTV entailed, Kaaicker said Men‘s brief was not only to distribute the channel but also to work out ways to increase ad revenues (virtually non-existant at this juncture). As to what were the initiatives that were being introduced to achieve this, Kaaicker could provide no details except to say that over the next quarter the results would be seen. Reacting to reports that the fashion channel was in the process of going pay, Kaaicker said it was not an option at all at this point. The focus at present was to promote the channel and increase ad revenues, he added.