PSLV-C9 lifted off from the second launch pad at the agency's main launch station, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre
The important flight events included the separation of the
first stage, ignition of the second stage, separation of the heat shield at
about 125 km altitude after the vehicle had cleared the dense atmosphere,
second stage separation, third stage ignition, third stage separation, fourth
stage ignition and fourth stage cut-off.
The 690 kg main payload, CARTOSAT-2A, was the first satellite to be injected into orbit at 885 seconds after lift-off at an altitude of 637 km. About 45 seconds later, Indian Mini Satellite (IMS-1) was separated after which all the nano satellites were separated in sequence. The initial signals indicate normal health of the satellites.
“For ISRO it is a historic moment because for the first time 10 satellites were put in orbit in a single launch. I am extremely proud of the entire team” said G. Madhavan Nair, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, quoted by AFP.
CARTOSAT-2A is a remote sensing satellite with a spatial
resolution of about one metre and swath of 9.6 km. The satellite carries a
panchromatic camera (PAN) capable of taking black-and-white pictures in the
visible region of electromagnetic spectrum. The highly agile CARTOSAT-2A is
steerable along as well as across the direction of its movement to facilitate
imaging of any area more frequently.
Soon after separation from PSLV fourth stage, the two solar
panels of CARTOSAT-2A were automatically deployed. The satellite’s health is
continuously monitored from the Spacecraft Control Centre at
Indian Mini Satellite (IMS-1), flown as an auxiliary payload
on board PSLV-C9, is developed by ISRO for remote sensing applications.
Weighing 83 Kg at lift-off, IMS-1 incorporates many new technologies and has
miniaturised subsystems.
IMS-1 carries two remote sensing payloads - A
Multi-spectral camera (Mx Payload) and a Hyper-spectral camera (HySI Payload),
operating in the visible and near infrared regions of the electromagnetic
spectrum. The spatial resolution of Mx camera is 37 metre with a swath of 151
km while that of HySI is about 506 metre with a swath of about 130 km.
The data
from this mission will be made available to interested space agencies and
student community from developing countries to provide necessary impetus to
capacity building in using satellite data.
The foreign “nano” satellites, which together weigh a mere
52 kilograms, were launched under a commercial arrangement. Among the
satellites were CUTE from
In January, the Indian Space Research Organization announced the successful launch of the Israeli TECSAR satellite, one of the most advanced space systems in the world.
Since the Indian space program started in 1963,