The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), already an achiever of so many extraordinary feats and now it reached an another important milestone with the successful launch of 104 satellites by using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
At 9.28 AM on Wednesday 15th Feb 2017, the PSLV-C37 rocket lifted off from the spaceport at Sriharikota, on board a series of super 104 satellites from 7 countries.
ISRO is located in Sriharikota(Nellore Dst, Andhra Pradesh,India).It houses the Satish Dhavan Space Center, one of the two satellite launch centers in India. ISRO launch satellites using multistage rockets such as the Pillar Satillite launch Vehicle and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota.
Highlights of 15th Feb 2017 Launch:
1. The 28-hour countdown for the launch PSLV-C37/Cartosat2 of a record 104 satellites by India on board a single rocket from the spaceport of Sriharikota, about 125 km from Chennai, commenced on Tuesday.
2. India is the first country to script history after launching these 104 satellites with a single rocket.
3. No other country has ever tried to hit a century in a single mission. The last world record is held by Russia which in 2014 launched 37 satellites in a single launch using a modified intercontinental ballistic missile.
4. It is also be ISRO's second successful attempt after launching 23 satellites in one go in June 2015.
5. During this launch PSLV first launched the 714 kg CARTOSAT-2 Series satellite for earth observation and then injected 103 co-passenger satellites, together weighing about 664 kg at lift-off into polar Sun Synchronous Orbit, about 520 km from Earth.
6. ISRO scientists have used the XL Variant - the most powerful rocket - earlier used in the ambitious Chandrayaan and during the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM).
7. Of 101 co-passenger satellites, 96 belong to USA, five from International customers of ISRO - Israel, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, respectively.
8. The remaining two other Indian nano satellites, totally weighing about 1,378 kg, will also ride piggyback in the rocket
9. The nano-satellites belonging to international customers are being launched as part of the arrangement by Antrix Corporation Ltd (ANTRIX) the commercial arm of the ISRO. Cartosat-2 Series, which is the primary satellite, will be similar to the earlier four satellites in Cartosat-2 Series.
10. After coming into operation, it will provide remote sensing services.Images sent by it will be useful for coastal land use and regulation, road network monitoring, distribution of water and creation of land use maps, among others.
11. Cartosat-2 Series has a mission life of five years. The two Indian Nano-satellites INS-1A and INS-1B were developed as co-passenger satellites to accompany bigger satellites on PSLV.
12. The primary objective of INS (ISRO Nano Satellite) is to provide an opportunity for ISRO technology demonstration payloads, provide a standard bus for launch on demand services.
13. The PSLV-C37 rocket is carrying a Cartosat-2 series satellite that will be used for producing high-resolution images of the Indian landmass.
Hats Off to ISRO Scientists and the Engineers who made all Indians feel proud with this launch.!!!
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