The four-stage rocket lifted off with EOS-04, a student satellite INSPIRESat and a spacecraft dubbed INSAT-2DT.
Isro launched PSLV-C52 from Sriharikota. (Photo: Isro)
The Indian Space & Research Organization (Isro) successfully launched the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-04) onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in the wee hours of Monday. The launch carried two other rideshare satellites into orbit as the Indian space agency set in motion work for 2022.
The launch was conducted from SAR in Sriharikota at 5:59 am to deploy EOS-04 in the Sun-Synchronous Orbit nearly 529 kilometers above the planet. The four-stage rocket lifted off with a student satellite INSPIRESat and a spacecraft dubbed INSAT-2DT that is a precursor of a joint India-Bhutan mission in the future.
Amid cheers in Mission Control, the launch director announced that all three satellites were successfully deployed. Following the launch, Isro chief S Somnath said, “The mission of PSLV-C52 has been successfully accomplished.”
The Earth Observation Satellite-04 is also called Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT) that has been designed to provide high-quality images under all weather conditions for applications such as agriculture, forestry, and plantations, flood mapping, soil moisture & hydrology. The spacecraft will collect observation data in C-Band completing the observations done by Resourcesat, Cartosat, and RISAT-2B series. The satellite has an operating life of a decade.
The 8.1-kilogram student satellite dubbed INSPIRESat-1 has been developed by the Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology in association with the Laboratory of Atmospheric & Space Physics at the University of Colorado. The satellite will aim at improving our understanding of the ionosphere dynamics and the sun’s coronal heating process. Its operational lifetime is set for a year.
This was the first launch of PSLV since the failure of the EOS-03 mission launched last year. The space agency had declared the mission as failed citing a technical anomaly with the system.
The Earth Observation Satellite-04. (Photo: Isro)
The first launch of 2022 has set in motion Isro’s plans to conduct 18 other missions this year, including high profile launch of Chandrayaan-3 to the Moon and the much-awaited uncrewed launch of the country’s Gaganyaan mission.
The 54th mission of India’s workhorse PSLV saw the launcher climb up in the SSO. The space agency plans to conduct the PSLV-C53 mission in March, which will carry OCEANSAT-3 and INS 2B ANAND into orbit.
Isro chief S Somnath had said earlier that the agency conduct five major satellite launches in the coming three months and a total of 19 missions this year.
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