The SCATSAT-1 was
launched by PSLV-C35 on Monday morning at 9:12 hrs (IST) on September 26, 2016
from the First Launch Pad of SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota. It is for the first time
that satellites were placed in two different orbits with a single rocket.
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre director K Sivan said, "The rocket has placed
all the satellites in precise orbits."
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C35) carrying the eight
satellites took off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 9.12am.
Around 17 minutes later, SCATSAT-1, the main payload of PSLV in its 37th
flight, was placed in the polar sun synchronous orbit at an altitude of about
730km.
In its
thirty seventh flight (PSLV-C35), ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
successfully launched the 371 kg SCATSAT-1 Satellite along with seven
co-passenger satellites . This is the
thirty sixth consecutively successful mission of PSLV. The total weight of all the eight satellites
carried on-board PSLV-C35 was 675 kg.
After a flight of
16 minutes 56 seconds, the vehicle achieved a polar Sun Synchronous Orbit of
724 km inclined at an angle of 98.1 degree to the equator (very close to the
intended orbit) and 37 seconds later the primary satellite SCATSAT-1 was
separated from the PSLV fourth stage. After separation, the two solar arrays of
SCATSAT-1 satellite were deployed automatically and ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking
and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore took over the control of the
satellite. After the successful
separation of SCATSAT-1, the PSLV-C35 mission continued. Still carrying the
seven co-passenger satellites, the fourth stage of PSLV coasted over the South
polar region and then started ascending towards the Northern hemisphere. A safe
distance between the orbiting SCATSAT-1 and PSLV-C35 fourth stage was
maintained by suitably manoeuvring the stage. At 1 hour 22 minutes and 38 seconds after
lift-off as the fourth stage was in the North polar region, the two engines of
PSLV fourth stage were reignited and fired for 20 seconds. As a result of this,
it entered into an elliptical orbit measuring 725 km on one side of the Earth
and 670 km on the other.
Of the
seven co-passenger satellites carried by PSLV-C35, two – PRATHAM weighing 10 kg
and PISAT weighing 5.25 kg – are University/Academic institute satellites and
were built with the involvement of students from IIT-Bombay and PES University,
Bangalore and its consortium, respectively. The remaining five co-passenger
satellites were international customer satellites from Algeria (three –
ALSAT-1B, ALSAT-2B and ALSAT-1N), Canada (one- NLS-19) and the United States
(one – Pathfinder-1).
With today’s launch, the PSLV’s capability to launch
satellites into two different orbits has been successfully demonstrated.
The total number of satellites launched by India’s workhorse launch vehicle
PSLV has now reached 121, of which 42 are Indian and the remaining 79 are from
abroad. SCATSAT-1, which will provide
weather forecast including cyclone detection and tracking, will succeed the now
defunct Oceansat-2 satellite launched in 2009.
One proudly recalls
that in June 2016, India launched 20 satellites in a single mission, the most
in the history of the country's ambitious space programme. Seventeen of those
were foreign. Monday's launch takes the number of foreign satellites launched
by India to 79. This has earned the country more than $120m (£92m). And India's
space agency has already secured deals to launch dozens more foreign
satellites. This is good news for a
country that has often faced criticism for spending money on a space programme
when it has problems like poverty and hunger to tackle.
A remarkable
day for the Nation ~ and we salute those scientists behind this great show.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
26th Sept. 2016.
