INSAT-4B launched successfully
	French Guyana: Launched atop the 780 ton Ariane-5 rocket, the 3000 kg INSAT 4 B satellite has been successfully launched in space. The Rs 210 crore satellite built by ISRO in Bangalore, is a dedicated telecommunication satellite. The almost 15 storey high, 57 metre tall Ariane-5 rocket in its 31st launch from Kourou in French Guyana on the east coast of South America, put in the correct orbit the Indian satellite, 31 minutes into its launch. This was the 13th satellite ISRO has launched using an Ariane Rocket. "Ariane has once again proved that they can do the job on the dot and give an orbit which is textbook precision. It is the 13th launch. Some people feel 13 is an unlucky number, but the competition is increasing by the day now," said G Madhavan Nair, Chairman Indian Space Research Organisation. The new bird in the sky, when declared operational a month from now, will add a total of 24 transponders to the already existing 175 that the Indian Space Agency owns. Today, the satellite has been placed in an intermediate orbit and will now slowly be moved to its final position 36,000 kilometres over India. The satellite is already under Indian command and the Master Control Facility at Hasan in Karnataka, which has acquired good signals from INSAT 4 B, says ISRO. All eyes are now on the first fully commercial launch of PSLV from Sriharikota that is slated for next month.