PSLV-C38 SUCCESSFULLY
LAUNCHES 31 SATELLITES IN A SINGLE FLIGHT
ISRO’s
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C38 successfully launched the 712 kg Cartosat-2
Series Satellite along with 30 co-passenger satellites today (June 23, 2017)
from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR,
Sriharikota. This is the thirty ninth consecutively successful mission of
PSLV.
PSLV-C38
lifted off at 0929 hrs (9:29 am) IST, as planned, from the First Launch
Pad. After a flight of about 16 minutes, the satellites achieved a polar
Sun Synchronous Orbit of 505 km inclined at an angle of 97.44 degree to the
equator (very close to the intended orbit) and in the succeeding seven and a
half minutes, all the 31 satellites successfully separated from the PSLV in a
predetermined sequence beginning with Cartosat-2 series satellite, followed by
NIUSAT and 29 customer satellites. The total number of Indian satellites
launched by PSLV now stands at 48.
After
separation, the two solar arrays of Cartosat-2 series satellite were deployed
automatically and ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore
took over the control of the satellite. In the coming days, the satellite will
be brought to its final operational configuration following which it will begin
to provide various remote sensing services using its panchromatic (black and
white) and multispectral (colour) cameras.
One
of the 30 co-passenger satellites carried by PSLV-C38 was the 15 kg NIUSAT, a University/Academic Institute
satellite from Nurul Islam University, Tamil Nadu, India. The remaining 29
co-passenger satellites carried were international customer satellites from USA
(10), United Kingdom (3), Belgium (3), Italy (3), Austria (1),
Chile (1), Czech Republic (1), Finland (1), France (1), Germany (1), Japan (1),
Latvia (1), Lithuania (1) and Slovakia (1).
With
today’s successful launch, the total number of customer satellites from
abroad placed in orbit by India’s workhorse launch vehicle PSLV has reached
209.
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