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ISRO's heaviest commercial mission to take off today

PSLV C-28 blasts off with five British satellites in ISRO's heaviest commercial mission - The Hindu
It is the heaviest commercial launch of PSLV since its inception.
In the heaviest commercial launch since its inception, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on Friday launched five satellites, weighing 1,440 kg for a United Kingdom-based company.

Lifting off from the First Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre here at 9.58 pm, PSLV C-28 launched three identical mini satellites of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC), besides two technology demonstrators — CBNT-1 and De-OrbitSail— for Surrey Space Technology Limited into the intended orbits, some 19.21 minutes later.

Successful mission

ISRO chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar termed it an “extremely successful mission.” Since it was a “challenge” for the ISRO to accommodate 3-metre high satellites into the existing payload structure of PSLV, the national space agency had specially designed a circular launch adapter and a triangular deck for Friday’s launch. The DMC satellites would eventually be fine tuned into the 647-km Sun Synchronous Orbit.

The launch marked the 30th successful mission of PSLV, also known as ISRO’s ‘workhorse.’ The national space agency had used the XL version for the ninth time.

The three mini DMC satellites have been designed for providing simultaneous spatial resolution and high temporal resolution for earth observation.

To be positioned with a separation of 120 degree between them, all the three satellites, each weighing 447 kg, are aimed at capturing any target on the Earth’s surface every day and are expected to help in surveying resources, environment and urban infrastructure, besides its primary aim of monitoring disasters.

While the 91-kg CNBT-1 is an optical earth observation technology demonstration micro satellite built by SSTL, the seven-kg De-OrbitSail from the Surrey Space Centre is an experimental nano satellite for demonstration of large thin membrane sail and drag deorbiting using this sail.

The PSLV had earlier launched 40 satellites for 19 countries.

11 facts about PSLV-C28



1 This is the 30th flight of the PSLV since it became operational in 1995, with one early failure
2 It is launching 5 UK satellites on Friday at 9:58 p.m.
3 The satellites totally weigh 1,440 kg, the heaviest paid PSLV service to date
4 Launch site Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota is in Andhra Pradesh and about 70 km from Chennai
5 Also its ninth flight in the modified `extended' configuration, called XL
6 ISRO has so far launched about 40 small to medium size foreign satellites for a fee
7 Of today's payloads, 3 are identical mini satellites, weighing 447 kg each
8 They are DMC-3 1, 2 and 3 optical earth observation satellites; 91-kg CBNT-1 micro-satellite; and the 7 kg De-orbitSail
9 DMC-3 satellites are each 3m high. ISRO designed a circular launcher adaptor and a triangular deck to fit them in
10 The late-night flight helps the UK operator to get control over them in orbit at suitable time
11 A nearly 63-hour coundown began on July 8 at 7.28 a.m.

President's Secretariat
11-July, 2015 17:15 IST
President of India congratulates ISRO for the successful launch of PSLV-C28

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has congratulated the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the successful launch of PSLV-C28.

In his message to Shri A.S. Kiran Kumar, the Chairman of ISRO, the President has said, “My heartiest congratulations to you and your entire team at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the successful launch of PSLV-C28, carrying 5 satellites. I am happy to know that this launch is the heaviest commercial mission ever undertaken by ISRO.

The launch of PSLV-C28 is an important landmark in our space programme. Please convey my greetings to all members of your team of scientists, engineers and technologists involved in this mission. I wish all your future endeavours great success”.
 
ISRO launches PSLV-C28 carrying 5 UK satellites
11 Jul, 2015
Text: PTI

Heralding a new era, ISRO on Friday night has launched its heaviest commercial space mission ever with its polar rocket successfully putting five British satellites into the intended orbit after a flawless takeoff.

Image: ISRO satellites awaits its launch.
isro-launches-pslv-c28-carrying-5-uk-satellites.jpg

44.4 metre tall Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
11 Jul, 2015
Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) workhorse 44.4 metre tall Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C28--a PSLV-XL version--hurtled towards the night skies with a rich orange flame at its tail and a plume of white fume and placed the five satellites in sun synchronous orbit about 20 minutes after lift off at 9.58 PM from the Satish Dhawan space Centre here.
44-4-metre-tall-polar-satellite-launch-vehicle.jpg

Overall mass of 5 satellites being about 1,440 kg
11 Jul, 2015
With the overall mass of five satellites being about 1,440 kg, this launch becomes the 'heaviest commercial mission' ever undertaken by ISRO and its commercial arm Antrix Corporation.
overall-mass-of-5-satellites-being-about-1440-kg.jpg

Launched into a Sun-Synchronous Orbit
11 Jul, 2015
PSLV's 30th mission saw the launch of three identical DMC3 optical earth observation satellites, built by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), United Kingdom, and two auxiliary satellites.

The three DMC3 satellites, each weighing 447 kg, was launched into a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) using the high-end version of PSLV-XL.
launched-into-a-sun-synchronous-orbit.jpg

Earlier successful launches
11 Jul, 2015
Earlier successful launches by ISRO -- Mars Orbiter Mission which was launched in Nov 5, 2013 and Chandrayaan-1 launched in Oct 22, 2008 were with similar PSLV-XL variants.
earlier-successful-launches.jpg

PSLV C28 also carries two auxiliary satellites
11 Jul, 2015
In addition to the three DMC3 satellites, PSLV C28 also carries two auxiliary satellites from UK - CBNT-1,a technology demonstrator earth observation micro satellite built by SSTL, and De-OrbitSail, a technology demonstrator nano satellite built by Surrey Space Centre.
pslv-c28-also-carries-two-auxiliary-satellites.jpg

DMC International Imaging
11 Jul, 2015
The satellites were launched as part of an arrangement to between DMC International Imaging (DMCii), a wholly owned subsidiary of SSTL, UK and Antrix Corporation Limited.
dmc-international-imaging.jpg

Advanced mini satellites
11 Jul, 2015
The DMC3 constellation, comprising three advanced mini satellites DMC3-1, DMC3-2 and DMC3-3, is designed to address the need for simultaneous high spatial resolution and high temporal resolution optical Earth Observation.

These satellites can image any target on the Earth's surface every day. Major application areas include surveying the resources on earth and its environment, managing urban infrastructure and monitoring disasters.
advanced-mini-satellites.jpg
 
Home page of Antrix website 'hacked'

Bengaluru, Jul 12, 2015, (PTI)
488856_thump.jpg

The website of ISRO's commercial arm Antrix Corporation Limited was reportedly hacked today and the space agency said efforts are on to set it right.

"The home page of the Antrix Corporation Limited website seems to have been hacked and we have already intimated this to the officials (of Antrix) who are dealing with the problem," a senior ISRO official told PTI.

He said other pages of the website were fine."Other pages are fine... however the officials at Antrix are trying to find out the problem and solve it," he said.

Asked how much time it would require for the site to be set right, he said, "At this point I can only say that the officials are trying to fix the problem."

The official, who did not wish to be identified, however said the website is "under construction".

Asked if the Chinese were suspected to be involved in the hacking, the official said, "We cannot confirm this also, but Antrix officials are looking into the glitch."

The "hacking" comes two days after ISRO successfully launched five British commercial satellites onboard PSLV-C28 from Sriharikota in its heaviest commercial mission.

Antrix is ISRO's marketing arm for promotion and commercialization of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of technologies developed by ISRO.

It provides space products and services to international customers worldwide. Its clientele includes EADS Astrium, Intelsat, Avanti Group, WorldSpace, Inmarsat, and other space institutions in Europe, Middle East and South East Asia.
 

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