ISRO satellite launch- Sends 104 satellites in a single go

• Tweet
• Pin It

ISRO launches – Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) created history today by successfully launching a world record 104 satellites which include India’s own earth observation satellite, on a single rocket from the spaceport in Sriharikota. This is the most number of satellites ever launched in a single mission. With this effort, ISRO has raised the bar to a whole new level when it comes to launching satellites.

It was Polar Satellite ISRO launches Vehicle PSLV-C37’s 39th mission which carried 104 satellites from seven different countries into the orbit. In this record breaking attempt, ISRO not only improved its own personal best of launching 20 satellites in space but also thrashed the world record previously held by Russia. Before this mission, Russia held the world record by launching 37 satellites in one go. ISRO bettered it by a fair margin.

The PSLV-C37 standing 44.4 meters tall and weighing 320 tonne took off at 9:28 am in the morning, on Wednesday from Sriharikota space station. Out of the 104 satellites that were launched, 101 belonged to international customers. With this mission, India seeks a bigger share of the $300 billion global space industry.

India’s high-resolution Cartosat-2 series satellite was the first one to be let off. It is specially made to monitor activities of India’s aggressive neighbors at a resolution of less than a metre. It will enable India to keep a bird’s eye view on both Pakistan and China.

As soon as the satellites were placed in the orbit, ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar announced the success of the mission. He also congratulated the entire team of ISRO for the excellent effort and all the hard work they put in.

Ajay Lele of ISRO also stated it as a significant step for India. He also shared the details of the mission. He told that the entire launch will take around half hour. It was a four staged mission.

The satellites include two India’s nano satellites ISRO’s INS-1A and INS-1B. They carry four payloads from SAC (Space Applications Centre) and LEOS (Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems) of ISRO. They are meant to conduct various experiments.

A S Kiran Kumar kept a close personal watch on the entire mission from start till the end along with other top scientists of ISRO.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee sent their heartwarming congratulations to the entire team of ISRO for the successful launch.

10 IMPORTANT POINTS FROM THE ISRO SATELLITE LAUNCH

ISRO launched 104 satellites in one go which is a world record. 101 satellites are foreign and 3 are Indian.

Satellites are from different countries including from Kazakhstan, Israel, Switzerland, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates and the USA. 96 satellites are from the USA alone.

Mission life of Cartosat-2 series satellite is 5 years.

ISRO sent 20 satellites in a single go last June. 13 satellites belonged to the USA.

ISRO used the XL variant which is the most powerful rocket for the launch. It was previously used in Chandrayaan and during the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM).

The nano-satellites which belong to international customers were launched as part of the arrangement by ANTRIX (Antrix Corporation Ltd) the commercial arm of the ISRO.

The  INS-1A and INS-1B satellites were developed as co-passenger satellites to accompany the bigger satellites on PSLV rocket.

The weight of the main satellite for earth observation was 704 kilograms while the combined weight of other 103 nanosatellites was 664 kilograms.

ISRO had previously sent an unmanned rocket to orbit Mars in 2013. Its cost was just $73 million, compared to NASA’s Maven Mars mission which had a whopping $671 million price tag.

The government recently increased the annual budget provided to ISRO by 23 per cent.

The mission is significant for the nation as it enabled ISRO to test its capabilities for multiple launches of small nanosatellites by its PSLV. ISRO’s low prices as compared to NASA is a major reason which attracts international customers to launch satellites through them. Last year 75 satellites were launched from Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

It is indeed a proud moment for India as it is a significant step towards the global leadership in the field. It will open doors for invaluable opportunities for the nation. With every launch, ISRO is expanding its range of research and experiment. And with an eye already on Jupiter and Venus who knows what secrets are waiting to unfold. Maybe ISRO can find aliens too.

• Tweet
• Pin It