PSLV-C45 lifts off with EMISAT, 28 foreign satellites

PSLV-C45 lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota carrying EMISAT and 28 customer satellites on board.

Business Standard : India’s latest observation satellite EMISAT took off smoothly on Monday morning with Isro placing payloads in three orbits and conducting space experiments for the first time.

The launch vehicle PSLV-C45 blasted off from the Isro spaceport, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota at 09:27 am today. The rocket is carrying an electronic intelligence satellite Emisat for the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and 28 third-party satellites. This is the first mission of the PSLV in which its PSLV-QL variant (4 XL Strap-on motors) is being flown. The mission marks several firsts to the credit of the space agency as it would manoeuvre satellites in various orbits and orbital experiments including on maritime satellite applications.

The primary satellite in the rocket is EMISAT, a satellite based on Isro’s Indian Mini Satellite -2 (IMS-2) bus platform. It is an electronic intelligence satellite for DRDO. The mission would witness the Isro placing payloads three orbits and conducting space experiments.

#ISROMissions #PSLVC45 lifts off from SDSC carrying #EMISAT & 28 customer satellites.

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• ISRO (@isro) April 1, 2019

The principal “first-time” innovation this time is the multiple orbits involved in the mission. The main satellite EMISAT and the 28 customer satellites will be ed into two different orbits, and later, the fourth stage engine of the rocket will be taken to a third orbit in space. A new variant of the rocket PSLV-QL equipped with four Strap-On motors in the first stage is used for the launch.

This is the 47th mission for Isro's PSLV programme.

So after injecting the 436 kg primary satellite EMISAT, intended for electromagnetic spectrum measurement, at around 17 minutes from lift off in a 749 km orbit, they would restart the fourth stage again. During this initiative, all the other 28 customer satellites would be released by lowering the fourth state to around 504 kms orbit. Again, the fourth stage would be reignited and further lowered to 485 kms orbit to serve as an orbital platform for carrying out space borne experimentations for the first time in Isro's history.

This is the first time it has been envisaged to provide a micro-gravity environment for research organisations and academic institutes to perform experiments.