New Delhi | Jagran Tech Desk: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday successfully launched its border surveillance satellite RISAT2BR1 and nine other satellites from the US (6) and one each from Israel, Italy and Japan. It was the 50th mission (48th successful mission) of PSLV that was launched RISAT-2BR1 from First Launch Pad (FLV). The satellite weighing 628 kg and was placed at an orbit of 576 kilometres at an inclination of 37 degrees.
The nine other customer satellites were launched under a commercial arrangement with NewSpace India Limited were also placed into their respective orbits. PSLV-C48 was the second flight of PSLV in QL configuration with 4-strap-on motors. Overall, it was the 75th launch vehicle from Sriharikota and 37th from FLP.
The countdown for the launch of the PSLV-C48 mission had commenced at 4.40 pm (IST) on Tuesday. ISRO Chairman Dr K Sivan had said that PSLV C48 is a historic moment as it is the 50th launch of PSLV and 75th launch from Sriharikota.
With the launch of nine other customer satellites, India has launched a total of 319 foreign satellites from 33 countries since the first launch in 1999 when PSLV-C2 carried satellites from South Korea and Germany.
Today’s launch was the 50th launch of #PSLV & 75th launch from our space port in Sriharikota.
— ISRO (@isro) December 11, 2019
Thanks for your support. pic.twitter.com/n7wDJyiGCN
PSLV's first successful launch was -PSLV-D2 was on October 15, 1994 that placed IRS-P2 remote sensing satellite in orbit, almost a year after its failed mission in 1993.
Last month, ISRO had launched another earth observational satellite CARTOSAT-3 (and 13 US nanosatellites) to keep close eye on its borders. It was placed at an orbit of 509 km at an inclination of 97.5 degrees to provide high-quality images that cater to the demand for rural resource, large scale urban planning, infrastructure development, coastal land use and land cover.
Posted By: James Kuanal
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