India's PSLV puts 2 UK satellites into orbit

Wednesday 19th September 2018 02:55 EDT
 
 

The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) put two UK earth observation satellites, NovaSAR and S1-4 into the orbit in its 44th flight. Both satellites together weighed around 889 kg and the commercial launch was carried out under an arrangement between Surrey Satellite Technologies Limited (SSTL) and Isro's commercial arm Antrix Corporation Limited.

Just hours before the launch, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre director S Somanath said, “When I joined Isro in 1985, the PSLV was still on paper, and the only rocket we had was SLV-3, the ASLV was struggling with people ridiculing us and asking when it will reach space. It had earned the moniker of Always Sea Launch Vehicle as it kept failing and landing in water. To see PSLV grow from and idea and to become Isro's workhorse is a great feeling.”

The launched satellites, NovaSAR is an S-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite intended for forest mapping, land use, and ice cover monitoring, flood and disaster monitoring; while S1-4 is a high resolution Optical Earth Observation Satellite, used for surveying resources, environment monitoring, urban management and for the disaster monitoring. Only the thid launch of PSLV after a rare failure in August last year, the PSLV-C42 took off at 10.08 pm, the first stage separated two minutes after that, while the fourth stage separated 17 minutes after the take off. The satellites separated 17.44 minutes after the launch before being placed in the desired Sun Synchronous orbit, about 583 km away.

This was Isro's first dedicated commercial in several months.


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