Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) broke new barriers in space technology on Wednesday by deploying 20 satellites, including the indigenously-developed CARTOSAT-2, an Earth observation spacecraft, into pre-determined orbits, a feat described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “monumental accomplishment.”
At the stroke of 9.25 am, a Polar Satellite launch Vehicle (PSlV) blasted off from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, 80 km north off Chennai, with 20 satellites on board.
While the CARTOSAT-2, weighing 727.5 kg was the main passenger on board the launch vehicle PSlV-C34, two student satellites from Indian universities and 17 satellites from foreign countries, including the USA, Canada and Germany, had a piggyback ride.
Within 26 minutes of its launch, the PSlV, described as India’s trusted and time-tested workhorse deployed all the satellites, one after another, into pre-determined orbits.
“This is a technological marvel. While reiterating the dependability of the PSlV, we proved to the world that we have mastered the Multiple launch Adapter technology, an expertise with which we are able to launch a number of payloads in a single mission,” said a veteran Isro scientist.
In 2008, Isro had launched ten satellites in a single mission. On April 28, 2008, the PSlV-C9 had launched CARTOSAT-2A, a remote sensing satellite, Indian Mini Satellite-1 and eight nano satellites.
According to an Isro release, the pictures sent by the CARTOSAT-2 satellite could be used in cartographic applications, urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation, utility management like road network monitoring, creation of land use map and water distribution.
The pictures, to be taken using the panchromatic and multispectral cameras on-board the satellite, would have a resolution of 60 cm. This means, any object on the surface of the Earth, measuring 60 cm in height will be clearly visible to these cameras.
While Wednesday’s mission too had a bouquet of nano satellites, one payload which stood out was the SkySat Gen2-1, an Earth observation satellite designed and developed by Terra Bella, a Google company. This 110 kg satellite is capable of sending out sub-meter resolution pictures and high definition videos.
Out of the 17 foreign satellites deployed by the PSlV in Wednesday’s mission, 13 were from the USA, two were from Canada, one each from Germany and Indonesia. Two of the Indian satellites were built by educational institutions. Except for the CARTOSAT-2 and the SkySat Gen2-1 satellites, all others belonged to the category of micro and nano satellites.
“20 satellites in a go! Isro continues to break new barriers. Hearty congratulations to our scientists on their monumental accomplishment,” tweeted Prime Minister Modi within seconds of ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar announcing the mission a success.
It is a big achievement for Isro , which in spite of great competition from other space faring nations and agencies, managed to get the contracts for deploying satellites from countries like the USA, Germany and Canada.