The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Friday (Jan 12) successfully launched a Cartosat-2 series weather observation satellite, along with 30 other spacecraft, using its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C40). The PSLV rocket lifted off from the Indian Space Research Organization’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on the country’s east coast.
The PSLV rocket launch was the first by ISRO since an Aug 31 failure that doomed an Indian navigation satellite. That failure was traced to a malfunction with the booster’s payload fairing separation system, ISRO has said.
“PSLV successfully launches 31 satellites in a single flight. ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its 42nd flight, successfully launched the 710-kg Cartosat-2 series remote sensing satellite, along with 30 co-passenger satellites today (January 12, 2018) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota,” ISRO said in a statement.
According to a mission description, the Cartosat-2F satellite launched on the new mission is an Earth-mapping satellite designed to assist land and resource monitoring and management. It is part of a growing series of Cartosat-2 satellites. The PSLV-C40 successfully placed the Cartosat-2 series satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit.
Friday’s successful launch comes about four months after ISRO’s PSLV-C39 failed following a technical snag involving its heat shield.
India’s 100th indigenously built satellite “Microsat” was put in orbit, nearly one hour and forty-five minutes into the mission. It was delivered successfully into orbit 313 miles (505 kilometers) above Earth.
The 30 other satellites that hitched a ride to space with Cartosat-2F included a wide variety of craft from seven different countries, including the asteroid-hunting Arkyd-6 nanosatellite for the U.S. space mining company Planetary Resources.
“The co-passenger satellites comprise one Microsatellite and one Nanosatellite from India as well as 3 Microsatellites and 25 Nanosatellites from six countries, namely, Canada, Finland, France, Republic of Korea, UK, and the USA,” ISRO stated.
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President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated ISRO on the successful launch of the rocket that carried 31 satellites weighing over 1300 kilograms.