Bengaluru, July 9: Space scientists are working to fix a power glitch which forced a shutdown of half of the transponders on board Insat-4B satellite, disrupting telecasts by 50 television channels and telecommunication services of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) since Thursday.
The scientists said they are working out methods to restore the services of channels such as Doordarshan-DTH, Sun Direct and several regional networks either through partial utilisation of some of the satellite’s 24 transponders or by transferring the services to other Indian communication satellites.
“Isro has 209 transponders on board its Insat satellites, we might even transfer the services of customers affected by the snag to anyone of these transponders. The last resort will be to explore transponders available on foreign satellites,” sources in Indian Space Research Organisation told Deccan Chronicle.
The sources said the loss due to the snag has not been estimated. Transponders are communications components that receive signals and broadcast them at different frequencies, allowing almost instantaneous transmission between distant points on the earth’s surface. They are employed onboard satellites for television broadcasting and telecommunications.
Insat-4B satellite carries 24 communication transponders and has been in operation since March 2007.