In yet another historic and proud moment for India, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday successfully launched 31 satellites from First Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
The satellites include Earth observation satellite Cartosat-2 series weighing 712 kg, 29 foreign and one Indian satellite. The XL variant of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket lifted all the satellites.
According to ISRO, the total weight of the 30 satellites is 243 kg, while the all the 31 satellites including Cartosat weighs about 955 kg. The PSLV-C38 rocket injected all the satellites into a 505 km polar sun sunchronous orbit (SSO).
The co-passenger satellites comprise 29 nano satellites belonging to 14 countries - Austria, Belgium, Britain, Chile, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and the US and one Indian nano satellite.
The 29 international customer nano satellites were launched as part of the commercial arrangements between ISRO's commericial arm, the Antrix Corporation Ltd and the international customers.
The 28-hour countdown for the launch of the satellites began at 5.29 am on Thursday. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its 40th flight (PSLV-C38), launched the 712 kg Cartosat-2 series satellite for earth observation and 30 co-passenger satellites.
Here are the highlights:
#10:40 AM
#9:50 AM
Want to congratulate each and every member of ISRO, we are making the nation proud again and again: P Kunhikrishnan
#9:50 AM
Making history is a way of life in ISRO, says K Sivan
#9:47 AM
Remaining satellites are being separated one by one
#9:43 AM
Fourth stage performance normal, engine shut off, Cartosat-2 satellite separated
#9:38 AM
Foreign delegates watch the launch of PSLV C-38 as there are 29 foriegn satellites onboard
#9:38 AM
The fourth stage is liquid stage, the performance is normal, we are now 10 minutes into flight. Performance is satisfactory: ISRO
#9:37 AM
We are 8 minutes into the flight, third stage separated, fourth stage engine ignited and the performance is normal, says ISRO
#9:35 AM
Third stage action completed, coasting phase begins and it is normal, 4th phase ignition has not been started
#9:32 AM
Second stage engine shut off, flight separation takes place, third stage ignited and the performance is normal
#9:32 AM
Second stage performance of PSLV C-38 is normal, says ISRO
#9:29 AM
ISRO says lift off normal
#9:29 AM
ISRO officials cheer as the PSLV C-38 mission lifted off successfully
#9:29 AM
ISRO successfully launches PSLV C-38 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota
#9:27 AM
Just 1 minute to go for ISRO PSLV C-38 launch, rocket closely being monitored by ISRO officials
#9:25 AM
3 minutes to go for ISRO PSLV C-38 launch
#9:17 AM
PSLV C-38 will carry two Indian satellites - Cartosat-2 series satellite, and a satellite developed by Tamil Nadu students called NIUSAT
#9:15 AM
ISRO shows a short documentart on PSLV C-38, Cartosat-2 satellite
#9:14 AM
All the satellites on board the PSLV-C38 have been authorised
#9:08 AM
ISRO shows fifth satellite from Cartosat-2 series, which will be launched shortly
#9:05 AM
ISRO officials prepare for the PSLV-C38 launch at Mission control centre
#9:05 AM
ISRO shows a documentary on how the PSLV is assembled before the launch of satellites
#9:01 AM
ISRO Officials at the Satish Dhawan Station gears up for the launch of PSLV-C38
#9:00 AM
The live telecast has started on the official website of ISRO and DD News
#8:46 AM
The launch of 31 satellites from Sriharikota will be live streamed, keep checking this space to watch ISRO PSLV-C38 launch live
#8:45 AM
ISRO is all set to launch 31 satellites from Sriharikota rocket port at 9:20 AM today
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Why PSLV-C38 mission holds special place for Tamil Nadu?
The ISRO’s PSLV-C38 mission is special for Tamil Nadu as it includes a satellite which has been indigenously built by students of a university in Kanyakumari district.
Students belonging to the Noorul Islam University in Kanyakumari district have developed the NIUSAT satellite. The satellite will be lifted along with 30 other satellites.
The satellite has been designed with an aim to provide multi-spectral imagery for agricultural crop monitoring and disaster management support applications, the ISRO had said earlier.
A dedicated mission control centre with UHF/VHF antenna for Telemetry/Telecommand operations and S-Band antenna for Payload data reception has been set up at the university.
The concept was developed following the December 2004 tsunami which struck Tamil Nadu, wrecking havoc mostly in the coastal areas, Noorul Islam University’s Director (Academic Affairs) A Shajin Nargunam said.
“We were thinking of how can we monitor the coastal region after the tsunami struck in 2004. You know it caused a lot of devastation. After several rounds of discussions, we concluded that we must continuously monitor the coastal mechanism,” the official, who did not wish to be named, said.
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He said that the project formally kicked off in February 2012 and it took the University five years to complete it.
“The total cost, I believe, is around Rs 20 crore. We have all the necessary infrastructure and the investment includes the master control facility which we have set up in the University itself. After the satellite reaches the intended orbit, we will take control from the facility,” he said.
102 students and faculty members were involved in developing the satellite, he said.
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