ISRO has successfully launched an Earth observation satellite.
Bengaluru:
ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) successfully launched its latest Earth observation satellite (EOS-01), along with nine satellites from client countries, aboard the PSLV-C49 launcher at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday night.
This is the space agency’s first launch since a nationwide coronavirus lockdown was initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 23. A previous launch – of the GSAT-30 telecommunications satellite – was completed in January, but from a base in French Guinea.
The launch took place at 3:12 p.m. after a 26 hour countdown. The launch was delayed by 10 minutes due to bad weather and debris in the flight path, ISRO sources told PTI News Agency.
# PSLVC49 successfully takes off from Satish Dhawan space center, Sriharikota#ISRO# EOS01pic.twitter.com/dWCBbKty8F
– ISRO (@isro) November 7, 2020
At 3:34 p.m., ISRO said the client satellites had split up and were injected into their intended orbits. Six minutes earlier, the space agency said India’s EOS-01 satellite separated from the fourth stage of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket and was injected into orbit.
# EOS01 successfully separated from the fourth stage of # PSLVC49 and injected into orbit#ISROpic.twitter.com/2u5jBPGNQD
– ISRO (@isro) November 7, 2020
Shortly after the launch, Prime Minister Modi tweeted, offering ISRO his congratulations.
“I congratulate ISRO and the Indian space industry on the successful launch of the PSLV-C49 / EOS-01 mission today. During the COVID-19 era, our scientists overcame many constraints to meet the deadline, ”said the Prime Minister.
Nine satellites, including four from the United States and Luxembourg and one from Lithuania, were also launched as part of the mission.
– Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 7, 2020
The PSLV is often considered the workhorse of the Indian space program and has now completed its 51st launch. Today was also the 77th Sriharikota Spaceport Launch Mission. Today’s launch also means the agency has sent 328 foreign satellites (from 33 countries) into space.
According to ISRO, EOS-01 is a highly advanced Earth observation satellite intended for use in supporting agriculture, forestry and disaster management planning.
Customer satellites, launched under a commercial agreement with NewIndia Space Limited (NSIL), include four from the United States for “multi-mission remote sensing”.
Four of the other five are from Luxembourg (for maritime applications) and the other from Lithuania (for technology demonstration).
With the contribution of PTI
