The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle with two smaller co-passenger satellites at 05.59 am today from the Sriharikota space centre in Andhra Pradesh.
This was ISRO's first launch mission of 2022, the 25-hour countdown for which had started on Sunday.
#ISRO #14February
PSLV-C52 successfully launches EOS-04 and two co-passenger satellites from Sriharikota
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C52 injected Earth Observation Satellite EOS-04, into an intended sun synchronous polar orbit of 529 km altitude at 06:17 IST pic.twitter.com/iFplSaGnI8— Santosh Sagar (@santoshsaagr) February 14, 2022
The launch vehicle is designed to orbit an earth observation satellite EOS-04, weighing 1,710 kg into a sun synchronous polar orbit of 529 km.
EOS-04 is a Radar Imaging Satellite designed to provide high quality images under all weather conditions for applications such as Agriculture, Forestry and Plantations, Soil Moisture and Hydrology and Flood mapping.
The two smaller co-passenger satellites include a student satellite (INSPIREsat-1) from Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) in association with Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics at University of Colorado, Boulder. It is also contributed by NTU, Singapore and NCU, Taiwan. The two scientific payloads in this satellite aim to improve the understanding of ionosphere dynamics and sun's coronal heating processes.
The other satellite (INS-2TD) is a technology demonstrator from ISRO, which is a precursor to the India-Bhutan Joint Satellite (INS-2B). Having a thermal imaging camera as its payload, the satellite will enable the assessment of land surface temperature, water surface temperature of wetland or lakes, delineation of vegetation (crops and forests) and thermal inertia (day and night).
Also read: ISRO helping send man 6,000 metres deep into ocean
