PSLV puts 7 satellites in orbit; four more missions this year/ISRO places seven Singaporean satellites into intended orbits

• The PSLV-C56 carrying seven satellites including the primary satellite DS-SAR has been successfully placed in the right orbit.
• ISRO and India remain committed to reduced space debris and sustainable use of space for the benefit of all.

Core Alone Variant

• ISRO used a ‘core alone’ variant of the PSLV for this mission.
• PSLV-Core Alone (PSLV-CA) variant does not use solid rocket strap-on motors in its first stage for added thrust.
  • The PSLV is a flexible launch vehicle which can be rigged with two, four or six strap-ons depending on the need.
  • The PSLV variants are used depending on the mission requirements.

Payloads

• A commercial mission, the PSLV-C56 had seven payloads in all
• It includes
  • Earth observation satellite DS-SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) from Singapore
    • developed under a partnership between DSTA (representing Government of Singapore) and ST Engineering.
    • will provide all-weather day and night coverage
    • is capable of imaging at 1m resolution at full polarimetry.
  • VELOX-AM, a 23 kg technology demonstration microsatellite
  • Atmospheric Coupling and Dynamics Explorer (ARCADE), an experimental satellite
  • ORB-12 STRIDER, which is a satellite developed under an International collaboration.
  • SCOOB-II, a 3U nanosatellite flying a technology demonstrator payload
  • NuLIoN by NuSpace, an advanced 3U nanosatellite enabling seamless IoT connectivity in both urban and remote locations
  • Galassia-2, a 3U nanosatellite, which will be orbiting at low earth orbit.

ISRO’s Missions

• ISRO is set to launch four more missions this year which includes
  • Another PSLV mission
  • The Gaganyaan test vehicle
  • Third development mission of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle
  • Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle mission for launching INSAT-3DS.

Prelims Takeaway

• Gaganyaan Mission
• PSLV
• ISRO