The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched PSLV-C29 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The rocket is carrying six Singaporean satellites which will help gather information on disaster monitoring and urban planning.
The prime minister also congratulated the team on the launch.
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C29 will put the satellites in orbit upon reaching 550 kms from the earth’s surface. The satellites would be launched one after another, 30 seconds apart, to avoid collision and set a distance of about 20 kilometres between them.
For the first time, the satellites will orbit around the equator and gather data that will benefit those in the equatorial region. The satellites will be put into a 550 kms circular orbit inclined at 15 degrees to the equator.
The satellites will be able to produce information at a much higher frequency. This will surely be very important when you use it for disaster monitoring in the region like Southeast Asia.Professor Goh Cher Hiang, Project Director, Satellite Programme, National University of Singapore
Front Row View of the Lift-off
The satellite can capture images of Singapore once every 100 minutes and tracks threats in the sea and air, as well as natural disaster across the region.
Of the six satellites, TeLEOS-1 is the primary satellite weighing 400 kg whereas the other five satellites include two micro-satellites and three nano-satellites. TeLEOS-1 is the first Singapore commercial earth observation satellite.
Antrix Corporation Ltd, the commercial arm of ISRO, has provided launch services in PSLV for 51 customer satellites from 20 countries so far.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)