'No Space Launch By Working From Home,' ISRO Chief Hails 1st Launch Since Pandemic

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its first ever rocket since the COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdown across India on Saturday noon.?

The launch saw the renowned space agency fly its PSLV C-49 rocket with 10 satellites as payloads from its Sriharikota launch site.

ISRO Chief Kailasavadivoo Sivan (Representative Image: Reuters)

Taking the stage after the launch, ISRO Chief K Sivan announced the success of the mission, congratulating Indians at large for now having the country’s latest Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-01) in orbit. He mentioned that the satellite has started with its operations in space and has successfully deployed its solar panels too.?

Highlighting the challenges that?ISRO?had to face with the mission due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, the ISRO Chief said, “The space activity cannot be done through work from home. Each and every space engineer has to be available in the lab, industry, integration area as well as the field, only then these activities will go on.”

ISRO Back To Work

He further praised ISRO employees for the success, saying, “Team ISRO, as usual, raised to the occasion. They worked very carefully with limited staff, while meeting all the protocols outlined by the government and without compromising any of the quality”

Now that ISRO is back to work post the pandemic lockdown, the ISRO Chief mentioned the future missions of the space agency. Post the successful launch today, ISRO will be launching its PSLV-50 with satellite CMS-01 onboard.

Following this, ISRO’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle or SSLV make its maiden flight, carrying EOS-02 to the orbit. The EOS-03 will be launched post that, onboard the GSLV F10 rocket.

First 2020 launch from Sriharkota

(Representative Image: ISRO)

The PSLV rocket launch with ten satellites onboard was incidentally ISRO’s first launch from the Sriharikota port this year.

Out of the ten satellites that constitute the payload, one is the Earth observation satellite made by ISRO itself. The satellite will be used for application in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support.

Nine others are customer satellites from other countries. Four of these satellites are from the USA, four are from Luxembourg and one is from Lithuania. Most of these satellites are for remote sensing and maritime applications except the one from Lithuanian, which is a technology demonstrator satellite.