ISRO's 42nd PSLV successfully puts 31 satellites in orbit

ISRO's 42nd PSLV successfully puts 31 satellites in orbit
Its primary payload was the fourth satellite in the advanced remote sensing Cartosat-2 series
The 42nd Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), PSLV-C40, was launched successfully on Friday by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from the First Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota and it placed 31 satellites across two orbits.

The PSLV, launched at 9.29 a.m., had as its primary payload the country's fourth satellite in the remote sensing Cartosat-2 series, weighing 710 kg. The 30 other co-passenger smaller satellites, together weigh 613 kg. Of them, 28 are from other countries.

The Cartosat-2, whose imagery will be used to develop various land and geographical information system applications, was placed in a circular polar sun synchronous orbit 505 km from the Earth. The satellite's design life is five years.

Two technology demonstrators
It is the two other Indian satellites in the payload that have generated much excitement. Both are called technology demonstrators, indicating significant strides in miniaturisation.

Of the two, one is a microsatellite of the 100 kg class. "This is a technology demonstrator and the forerunner for future satellites of this series," the ISRO said.

The other one, a nanosatellite, named Indian Nano Satellite (INS) - 1C, is the third in its series; its predecessors were part of the PSLV-C37 launch of February 2017. The INS-1C, whose mission life is six months, carries the Miniature Multispectral Technology Demonstration payload from the Space Applications Centre. "With a capability to carry up to 3 kg of payload and a total satellite mass of 11 kg, it offers immense opportunities for future use," the ISRO said.

Of the 28 foreign satellites, launched as part of deals made by ISRO's commercial arm Antrix Corporation Limited, three were microsatellites and 25 nanosatellites. There were 19 satellites from the United States and five from South Korea. The United Kingdom, France, Canada and Finland had a satellite each.

The CMD of Antrix had told The Hindu that the PSLV carried three important proof-of-concept microsats.

The ISRO had seen its launch of August 31, 2017 being recorded as a failure. The heat shield of PSLV-C39 did not separate, resulting in satellite separation occurring within the shield. It was only the second total failure of the PSLV in nearly 24 years: the PSLV-D1, in its maiden flight, failed on September 20, 1993.
..........................................ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its forty second flight, successfully launched the 710 kg Cartosat-2 Series Remote Sensing Satellite along with 30 co-passenger satellites today from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. This flight is designated as PSLV-C40.

The lift-off of PSLV-C40 occurred at 0929 hrs (9:29 am) IST from the First Launch Pad. After a flight lasting 16 minutes 37 seconds, the satellites achieved the polar Sun Synchronous Orbit of 503 km inclined at an angle of 97.55 degree to the equator. In the succeeding seven minutes, Cartosat-2 series satellite, INS-1C and 28 customer satellites successfully separated from the PSLV in a predetermined sequence. The fourth stage of PSLV-C40 fired twice for short durations to achieve a polar orbit of 365 km height in which India’s Microsat successfully separated.

After separation, the two solar arrays of Cartosat-2 series satellite deployed automatically and ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bengaluru 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 remote sensing data using its panchromatic (black and white) and multispectral (colour) cameras.

The 11 kg INS-1C and the 100 kg class Microsat, the two Indian co-passenger satellites of Cartosat-2, are also being monitored and controlled from ISTRAC, Bengaluru. The 28 international customer satellites belong to Canada, Finland, France, Republic of Korea, UK and the USA.

So far, PSLV has successfully launched 51 Indian satellites and 237 customer satellites from abroad.

Isro’s 100th satellite: Countdown begins for launch of ‘Cartosat-2’ series
Isro will launch the weather observation ‘Cartosat-2’ series satellite and 30 other satellites at 9.28 am on Friday using its trusted ‘PSLV-C40’ rocket
The 28-hour countdown for the launch of Isro’s 100th satellite along with 30 others in a single mission, from the space port of Sriharikota, about 110km from Chennai, began on Thursday.

On its 42nd mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro) trusted workhorse ‘PSLV-C40’ will carry the weather observation ‘Cartosat-2’ series satellite and 30 co-passengers (together weighing about 613 kg) at lift-off at 9.28am tomorrow.

As the Mission Readiness Review committee and Launch Authorisation Board cleared the countdown, the space body today said, “The 28-hour countdown activity of PSLV-C40/Cartosat2 Series Satellite Mission has started at 05.29 hours IST today”.

At present, the scientists are involved in propellant filling operation to carry out various stages of the flight, it said. The 44.4 metre tall rocket is all set to lift off from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.

The co-passenger satellites comprise one micro and nano satellite each from India as well as three micro and 25 nanosatellites from six countries—Canada, Finland, France, Korea, the United Kingdom and United States of America.

The total weight of all the 31 satellites carried on-board PSLV-C40 is about 1,323kg. The 28 international customer satellites are being launched as part of the commercial arrangements between ISRO and its commercial arm ‘Antrix Corporation Ltd’.

Of the total number of satellites carried by PSLV-C40, 30 satellites will be launched into a 505 kms polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). Scientists would bring down the height by twice restarting the fourth stage of the PSLV-C40 for launch of Microsat satellite, which will be placed in a 359km polar SSO, ISRO said. The entire launch of satellites is expected to happen over a period of 2 hours and 21 seconds, it said.

According to Isro, the Cartosat-2 series satellite launch is a follow-on mission with the primary objective of providing high resolution scene specific spot imageries. It carries panchromatic and multi-spectral cameras operating in Time Delay Integration mode and is capable of delivering high resolution data. It will be the third satellite in the Cartosat-2 series.

Isro had successfully launched Cartosat-2 Series satellite on 22 June 2016. It is similar to the earlier Cartosat-2, 2A and 2B. The images sent by Cartosat-2 series satellite will be useful for cartographic applications, urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation, road network monitoring, water distribution, creation of land use maps and change detection to bring out geographical Land Information Systems and Geographical Information System applications.

ISRO Satellite Centre director M. Annadurai had recently said the launch of 28 satellites from abroad and three Indian satellites during the mission would mark the roll out of the 100th satellite by the space agency.

Tomorrow’s launch also marks the first launch for Isro in 2018 following the unsuccessful mission of navigation satellite IRNSS-1H last year.

On 31 August 2017 India’s mission to launch its backup navigation satellite IRNSS-1H on board PSLV-C39 failed after the heat shield did not separate in the final leg of the launch sequence and as a result, the satellite IRNSS-1H got stuck in the fourth stage of the rocket.