Interesting facts about ISRO’s latest satellite launch!
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) made a record with its 20 successful satellite launch in orbit. It is an extremely proud moment for India as its biggest space mission got monumental accomplishment. The workhorse PSLV-C34 was launched from the spaceport Satish Dhawan Centre in Shriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
The PSLV-C34 mission consists of 17 commercial satellites as part of its payload along with two from Indian academic institution. The main catch is the Cartosat-2 series satellite for earth observation which is around 725.5 kg of cargo. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLR) rocket has an immaculate reputation of about two decades.
In about 30 minutes the 20 satellites were in the designated polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). This is by far the biggest of ISRO’s achievements and they are ecstatic with joy over it. Our scientists have proved that we are not going to be an underdeveloped country for long.
Some facts to be noted:1. Adding feather to the hat: Until this mission, the maximum number of satellites launched by ISRO in a single mission was ten only. This happened in June 2008 and the satellites were placed into various low earth orbits. Launching more satellites in a single go saves big on the cost of the mission which makes it understandable why this new accomplishment is worth so many appraisals.
2. Cartosat-2C: The lead man of the celebration is the Cartosat-2 series satellite for earth observation which is worth 725.5 kg of cargo. It is the main satellite which is quite similar to the earlier Cartosat-2, 2A and 2B but technologically more advanced. It is equipped with panchromatic and multi-spectral image sensors. It has an expected life span of 5 years. The images that we shall receive from Cartosat-2 satellite will be extremely helpful in the generation of these apps:
- Cartographic
- Rural and urban applications
- Coastal land use and regulation
- Water allocation
- Road network monitoring
- Creation of land use maps
- Precision study
- Change detection to sort out geographical and manmade features
- Land information system
3. Weight: The rest of satellites weighed about 560 kg at lift-off while the Cartosat alone took up more than half of the weights of all the payloads added. The total weight of all the satellites on the rocket added up to 1,288kg.
4. Origin: Thirteen of these satellites were from USA. It included the twelve Dove satellites from Planet Labs organization. Each of these weighed just 4.7 kg. Two satellites were from Canada while there was one each from Germany and Indonesia.
5. Features: The 110 kg SkySat Gen-2-1 is said to be owned by Google. It is a small earth imaging satellite that can capture sub-metre resolution imagery as well as high definition video. The Dove Satellites from Planet Lab are also earth imaging satellites. The rocket from Canada is an 85 kg M3MSat.
6. Home satellites: The satellite from Sathyabama University in Chennai is a 1.5 kg Sathyabamasat which is designated to collect data on green house gases. It is fairly advanced and functional and can monitor more greenhouse gases than the other satellites in the rocket. The other one is a 1 kg Swayam Satellite from College of Engineering, Pune. It is designated to provide point-to-point messaging services to the HAM radio community.
7. Records: India has till date launched 57 foreign satellites successfully. This mission was PSLV’s 35th consecutive successful mission. For the 17th time PSLC in its XL configuration has made flight. This configuration is known for its ability to carry more loads using strap on motors. ISRO has gone all the way to prove its efficacy with this big accomplishment.
8. Total satellites: India’s total number of earth observation satellites has gone up to 11.
These include:
- RESOURCESAT-1 and 2
- CARTOSAT-1, 2, 2A, 2B, 2C
- RISAT-1 and 2
- OCEANSAT-2.
The reputation of ISRO in the international arena went a notch up higher with this big achievement. All the seven of India’s navigation system called Navic is up and running. The nano satellites are making quite a stir for their small size and excellent capabilities. India has something very worthy to brag about in the international community. What is more commendable is the efforts of the students of Chennai and Pune who burnt midnight oil to make the two nano satellites successful. Youth coming forth for invention is the positive sign that India is all set to add more feathers to its cap in years to come.
