INSAT-3B was the first INSAT-3 satellite to reach orbit, launched by Ariane 5 from Kourou in March 2000. It served business, mobile and developmental communication from 83° E.
No longer operational, according to the public satellite catalogue.
INSAT-3B carried 12 extended C-band transponders, Ku-band transponders and a mobile satellite service payload. It provided the first transponders for Vidya Vahini, a scheme for interactive training and development communication.
It shared the 83° E slot with INSAT-2E.
INSAT-3B was launched before INSAT-3A because India urgently needed extended C-band capacity after INSAT-2D failed.
It weighed 2,070 kg at launch, of which 970 kg was dry mass. It was the first ISRO satellite to use an Indian-made titanium propellant tank with a device that feeds bubble-free propellant in weightlessness.
An Ariane 5 launched it from Kourou with the AsiaStar satellite. Ariane 5 dropped it off with a perigee of 560 km, higher than the 200 km of earlier INSATs on Ariane 4, which saved propellant during orbit-raising.