ISRO launches UK satellites

Saturday 18th July 2015 07:49 EDT
 

Sriharikota: The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched five satellites for the United Kingdom, claiming another feather to its cap.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C28) lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 9.58pm. And less than 20 minutes later, the rocket placed in the designated orbits three identical DMC3 optical earth observation satellites, an auxiliary earth observation micro satellite (CBNT-1) and one technology demonstrator nanosatellite (De-OrbitSail), built by SSTL. The overall liftoff mass of the five satellites added up to 1,440k, more than twice the mass of its last commercial launch of SPOT 7, a French satellite weighing 712kg which was put in orbit by PSLV on June 30, 2014.

It was PSLV's 30th flight and 29th consecutive successful one. This was for the ninth time, Isro used an XL version of the rocket with an additional strap-on. The heaviest commercial mission undertaken by the space agency proves ISRO is not only a major player for space industries globally but also as a leading foreign exchange earner for the country.

These international customer satellites were launched as part of the arrangement between DMC International Imaging (DMCii), a wholly owned subsidiary of SSTL, UK and Antrix Corporation Limited (Antrix), the commercial arm of ISRO.

“It was a wonderful launch,” said Isro chairman AS Kiran Kumar. “We've put all the five satellites of our customers in orbit.”


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