The entire PSLV - C 38 launch mission at Sriharikota took about 23 minutes.
The
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today successfully
launched the earth observation Cartosat 2 series satellite on-board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) - C 38. It also put 30 other satellites into orbit. This comes close on the heels of the
launch of GSLV Mk III - the Indian space agency's heaviest rocket to date. PSLV-C38 was launched from the First Launch Pad (FLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. Here's all that you need to know about the launch and the 31 satellites:
1. Cartosat-2 series satellite weighs 712 kg. It has 30 co-satellites - 29 foreign satellites and one Indian satellite, together weighing about 243 kg. The total weight of all the satellites carried on-board PSLV is about 955 kg.
2. The co-passenger satellites comprise 29 Nano satellites from 14 countries namely, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, United Kingdom and United States of America as well as one Nano satellite from India, informed an ISRO statement.
3. The 29 International customer Nano satellites were launched as part of the commercial arrangements between Antrix Corporation Limited (Antrix), a Government of India company under Department of Space (DOS) and the commercial arm of ISRO and the International customers, said the ISRO.
4. The satellites were launched into a 505 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). The entire launch mission took about 23 minutes.
5. The Cartosat-2, a remote-sensing satellite, has a resolution of 0.6 metres. It will provide high-resolution scene specific spot imagery. The Cartosat 2 has been called India's
sixth eye-in-the-sky. It will orbit the earth from 500 km above, and help with military operations, scientists say.
6. The previous satellite in the series had a resolution of 0.8 metres and the images it took on India's neighbourhood had helped carry out surgical strikes on across the Line of Control last year, ISRO sources said, reported the
Press Trust of India.
7. The Indian satellite, called
NIUSAT, made by Noorul Islam University in Tamil Nadu was also placed in the orbit. It took seven years to built the satellite costing over Rs 15-crore. Its objective is to monitor agricultural crops and help with disaster management.
8. This is the 39th consecutive launch of the 44-metre tall PSLV-C38, also called 'the Workhorse of ISRO'.
9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi later took to twitter to congratulate :
10. This is the seventeenth flight of PSLV in 'XL' configuration with the use of solid strap-on motors, said ISRO.