GSAT-3

GSAT-3, also known as EDUSAT, was a communications satellite which was launched on 20 September 2004 by the Indian Space Research Organisation. EDUSAT is the first Indian satellite built exclusively to serve the educational sector. It is mainly intended to meet the demand for an interactive satellite-based distance education system for the country. EDUSAT carries five Ku band transponders providing spot beams, one Ku band transponder providing a national beam, and six extended C band transponders providing national coverage beams. EDUSAT was successfully launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) on the first operational launch of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, which flew from the First Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. EDUSAT was initially placed into a transfer orbit with a perigee of 180 kilometres (110 mi), an apogee of 35,985 kilometres (22,360 mi), and a period of 10.5 hours, inclined at 19.2 degrees to the equator.