Sriharikota (AP), Dec 19 : ISRO's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV-F11 lifter off from here Wednesday carrying India's geostationary communication satellite GSAT-7A, which will substantially enhance the communication

systems of the Indian Air Force.

The 26-hour countdown for the launch commenced at 2.10 pm Tuesday and the rocket blasted off at 4.10 pm from the second launch pad at the satellite launch site in Sriharikota, over 100 km from here.

The mission life of the 2,250kg GSAT-7A, built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is eight years. It will provide communication capability to users in Ku-band over the Indian region.

The GSLV-F11, ISRO's fourth generation launch vehicle with three stages, will inject the GSAT-7A into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). The satellite will be placed in its final Geostationary Orbit using its onboard propulsion systems.

The four liquid strap-ons and a solid rocket motor at the core form the first stage of the launch vehicle, while the second stage is equipped with high thrust engine using liquid fuel, the space agency said. The Cryogenic Upper Stage forms the third and final stage of the vehicle.

The seventh launch of 2018 from Sriharikota marks the 69th mission of GSLV-F11 for ISRO.

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Mumbai (PTI): NCP chief and Maharashtra deputy CM Sunetra Pawar on Saturday said she has forwarded Rupali Chakankar's resignation as state women's commission chairperson to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for acceptance.

Chakankar, a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, on Friday tendered her resignation after facing flak from opposition parties over her association with rape-accused 'godman' Ashok Kharat.

Following a meeting with CM Fadnavis, who asked her to step down, she handed the resignation letter personally to Sunetra Pawar late in the evening.

"Chakankar has tendered her resignation considering the current circumstances and ongoing investigation. To ensure that the probe is conducted in a fair and transparent manner, I have forwarded her resignation to the Chief Minister for further process," Pawar said in a statement.

Appointed as chairperson of the Maharashtra State Women's Commission first in October 2021, Chakankar was given another three-year term in 2024.

Kharat, who heads a temple trust at Sinnar and had several political leaders visit him over the years, was arrested by Nashik Police on Wednesday for allegedly repeatedly sexually assaulting a woman.

As per the complainant, he called her to his office sometime in 2022 after her marriage, claiming that his astrological predictions point to a threat to her husband’s life and she needed to perform certain rituals to ward it off. He then gave her a sedative-laced drink and raped her, the woman alleged, claiming that he raped her multiple times over the next three years.