Proud Moment For India As ISRO Successfully Launches Its 100th Satellite Into The Orbit
Having placed more than 250 satellites in orbits through its workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), success has become a routine for ISRO.
The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched the PSLV-C40/Cartosat 2 Series satellite mission, the 100 launch of India's unparalleled space success story.
The rocket carrying 31 satellites blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota today morning. PSLV-C40/ Cartosat-2s series will be one of the longest missions. It will last for two hours and 21 minutes as the fourth stage liquid engine will be ignited and shut off four times.
ISRO
Having placed more than 250 satellites in orbits through its workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), success has become a routine for ISRO. The space agency is now adding new capabilities to PSLV, as ISRO marches towards the future of small satellite market.
ALSO READ: ISRO To Begin 2018 With A Bang, Aims To Launch 31 Satellites In One Go On January
On Friday, it was the 42nd flight of the ISRO's workhorse launcher PSLV-C40, once again demonstrating the multiple-burn technology where the fourth stage engine will be ignited and shut off four times to place 31 satellites, including small ones, in different orbits. ISRO has demonstrated the technology on three previous missions.
The launch on Friday carries significance for two reasons. ISRO is back in the game four months after the failure of its previous PSLV mission on August 31, 2017. The rocket will also place ISRO's 100th satellite in orbit.
AFP
ALSO READ: Here Comes New ISRO Chief, He Is Known For Sending 104 Satellites Into Orbit In Single Mission
"This time, the rocket will have the same configuration as demonstrated during the previous missions," said R Hutton, mission director.
The fourth stage engine will ignite for the first time eight minutes into the mission and will be shut off eight minutes later. The rocket will then place 30 satellites including its main payload, Cartosat-2S series, seventh in the series, and 28 foreign satellites within a period of 42 minutes into polar sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 505km.
The engine will then restart and shut off twice as it manoeuvres to an altitude of 359km within an interval of nearly 45 minutes before it injects the last satellite into orbit.