ISRO launches PSLV-C44: Indian military satellite carrying Microsat-R and students' payload Kalamsat lifts off

Sriharikota: ISRO’s PSLV C44 lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here on Thursday, carrying India’s military satellite Microsat-R and students’ payload Kalamsat.

The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) workhorse Polar rocket blasted off from the first launch pad at 11.37 pm at the end of a 28-hour countdown and soared into the clear and starry night sky, in the first mission for ISRO in 2019.

Andhra Pradesh: #ISRO launches #PSLVC44 mission, carrying #Kalamsat and #MicrosatR from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. pic.twitter.com/yBI7xlKARK

— ANI (@ANI) January 24, 2019

In its 46th flight, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C44) would place the 740-kg primary satellite Microsat-R, an imaging satellite meant for military purposes, in a 274-km polar sun-synchronous orbit about 14 minutes after the lift-off, the ISRO said.

After this, the stage four of the rocket with the Kalamsat, a 10-CM size cube and weighing 1.2 kg, would be moved to a higher circular orbit so as to establish an orbital platform for carrying out experiments using the tiny payload. Kalamsat is said to be the lightest satellite of India.