Isro`s PSLV-C40 places Cartosat-2 Series |
The Indian Space Research Organisation is back in the game as its workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C40) successfully placed 31 satellites in two different orbits in one of the longest missions. The launch was also significant for another reason -- Isro demonstrated multiple-burn technology that it tested in three previous launches. This is PSLV`s 40th successful launch. PSLV-C40, in its 42nd flight, placed 31 satellites+ -- Cartosat-2 Series, Microsat, 28 foreign nanosatellites and an Indian nanosatellite -- in orbits. The foreign nanosatellites are from the US, France, Finland, the UK, South Korea and Canada. Around 17 minutes after the lift-off from the launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 9.28am, the rocket injected its main payload- the 710kg weighing Cartosat-2 series, the seventh satellite in the series, into a polar sun synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 510km.Within a span of around seven minutes, the rocket ejected 29 satellites as it maneuvered its way up the altitude to 519km. It is an excellent mission. Cartosat`s performance has been so far satisfactory, said retiring Isro chairman AS Kiran Kumar after the rocket placed 30 satellites in orbit, with one remaining to be placed in a different orbit.
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