20 satellites to be launched by ISRO in single mission on June 22

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch no less than 20 satellites under a single mission on June 22. The launching will take place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C34 will carry all the satellites, including Cartosat-2, India’s earth observation spacecraft. The satellites will be launched from the Second Launch Pad (SLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 09.25 AM, ISRO said on Thursday.

“Mission Readiness Review (MRR) committee and Launch Authorisation Board (LAB) will meet in the days to come, after reviewing, clearance will be given for the countdown,” a senior ISRO official said.

In 2008, 10 satellites were sent by the space agency into the orbit in a single mission. 19 co-passenger satellites weighing about 560 kg at lift-off into a 505 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) will be launched by the PSLV-C34.

The total weight of all the 20 satellites carried on board PSLV-C34 is about 1,288 kg, said ISRO. The co-passengers include satellites from the US, Canada, Germany and Indonesia as well as two satellites from Indian Universities.

ISRO had informed earlier that the mission will include LAPAN A3 of Indonesia, BIROS of Germany, SKYSAT GEN 2-1 of US, MVV of Germany among the micro satellites.