India on Monday created history, launching ten satellites in one go with its Polar launch vehicle carrying the heaviest payload of 824 kg. The ten-pack launch of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) saw the 230-tonne Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C9) put into orbit an Indian Mini Satellite and eight foreign nano satellites besides the Cartosat-2A remote sensing satellite.
This is for the first time that ISRO has put ten satellites into orbit in a single launch.
"We have showed the world we can have multiple launches carried out in a precise manner. We have set a record. Only Russia had so far tried to launch 13 satellites in a single launch and I am not sure whether that was successful," he told reporters here.
The PSLV-C9, in its total flight of 1,151 seconds, has performed extremely well. "It's much better than a text book performance. Every system functioned as per the parameters," Nair said.
He said while USD 0.6 million was charged for the nano satellites, it cost around Rs 120 crore for the CARTOSAT and Rs 22 crore for the IMS-1.
"We hope by the third quarter of this year, we should be able to take out the satellite to the moon." He said ISRO planned to induct indigenous cryogenic stage into the GSLV soon.
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director K Radhakrishnan, who was also present at the launch, said ISRO had started designing space capsules to send two astronauts on a low earth orbit in the next seven years for the manned mission to space. Considering the safety of the crew and vehicle, which will be the GSLV, the design aspects were taken up very seriously and there would be an unmanned mission before sending the astronauts, Radhakrishnan said.
"The manned mission is necessary for the country as Russia, China and some major European countries and the US were already in the scenario as prominent players," he said. Before the manned mission, there would be three unmanned missions which would be undertaken BY GSLV MK-III. The government had already made an initial allotment Rs 95 crore for the mission, he said.
The PSLV blasted off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 9.24 am and fourteen minutes later, the fourth stage injected the ten satellites into the 635 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
This is the thirteenth flight of PSLV and the third with the 'core-alone' configuration, without the hugging six strap-on booster motors that powers the first stage. CARTOSAT-2A weighing about 690 kg carries a state-of-the-art Panchromatic camera (PAN) that can record high clarity images covering a swathe of 9.6 kms.
The 83 kg IMS-1, developed by ISRO, incorporated many new technologies and has miniaturised subsystems. Data from it will be shared with other developing countries. The eight Nano Satellites, built by universities and research institutions in Canada and Germany, were launched under a commercial agreement.
:speakcool:
. Oh well.
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. That Dnepr launch was only for a total of around 200-300kg while this was for a payload of 820 kg.
