Tweet
ISRO’s 100th mission: PSLV rocket lifts off successfully
Engineers of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday successfully put into space SPOT-6, a 712-kg remote sensing satellite built by EADS ASTRIUM, the European Space Consortium. It’s billed as ISRO’s 100th space mission, which started with the launch of Aryabhata in 1975.
The satellite was injected into an orbit 660 km away from the earth by ISRO’s time-tested launch vehicle, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which has a history of 21 consecutive successes. Piggy riding onboard the PSLV-C21 with SPOT-6 was PROITERES, a Japanese satellite weighing 15 Kg built by the Osaka Institute of Technology, Japan.
A galaxy of VVIPs including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Minister Narayanasamy, former Space Commission chairmen UR Rao and Kasturi Rangan witnessed the event, which was described by V Adimoorthy, India’s space academician, as a copy book launch.
The only missing face was G Madhavan Nair, former Space Commission chairman, who standardised the PSLV and was instrumental in India bagging the commercial contract for launching SPOT-6. Since 2008, India has not bagged a single major contract from any of the space faring nations.
Though the scheduled time of the lift-off was at 09.51 hours, it was extended by a minute to avoid any space debris coming on the path of the PSLV. Other than this, the lift off was a smooth affair and the whole mission worked as per scripted by the launch specialists of Satish Dhavan Space Centre at Sriharikotta, India’s Gateway to the Stars.
A senior scientist, however, said the real test of ISRO is in successfully launching the Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, India’s passport to the elite Space Club.
“Till then we have to remain content with celebrating the successes of the PSLV,” he said. Only the GSLVs could put into the Geo Stationary Orbit (36,000 km away) heavy communication satellites for which India is now dependent on European Space
Agency which has the Ariane Rockets capable of putting heavy satellites into GSOs.
Engineers of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday successfully put into space SPOT-6, a 712-kg remote sensing satellite built by EADS ASTRIUM, the European Space Consortium. It’s billed as ISRO’s 100th space mission, which started with the launch of Aryabhata in 1975.
The satellite was injected into an orbit 660 km away from the earth by ISRO’s time-tested launch vehicle, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which has a history of 21 consecutive successes. Piggy riding onboard the PSLV-C21 with SPOT-6 was PROITERES, a Japanese satellite weighing 15 Kg built by the Osaka Institute of Technology, Japan.
A galaxy of VVIPs including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Minister Narayanasamy, former Space Commission chairmen UR Rao and Kasturi Rangan witnessed the event, which was described by V Adimoorthy, India’s space academician, as a copy book launch.
The only missing face was G Madhavan Nair, former Space Commission chairman, who standardised the PSLV and was instrumental in India bagging the commercial contract for launching SPOT-6. Since 2008, India has not bagged a single major contract from any of the space faring nations.
Though the scheduled time of the lift-off was at 09.51 hours, it was extended by a minute to avoid any space debris coming on the path of the PSLV. Other than this, the lift off was a smooth affair and the whole mission worked as per scripted by the launch specialists of Satish Dhavan Space Centre at Sriharikotta, India’s Gateway to the Stars.
A senior scientist, however, said the real test of ISRO is in successfully launching the Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, India’s passport to the elite Space Club.
“Till then we have to remain content with celebrating the successes of the PSLV,” he said. Only the GSLVs could put into the Geo Stationary Orbit (36,000 km away) heavy communication satellites for which India is now dependent on European Space
Agency which has the Ariane Rockets capable of putting heavy satellites into GSOs.
