Isro is all set to set a new world record in the number of satellites launched on a single rocket. The main passenger on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is India’s own CartoSat-2D, an Earth observation satellite that will allow policy makers to take decisions on land use. 101 foreign satellites will be piggybacking on the mission, an effort to optimally use the capabilities of the PSLV.
https://twitter.com/isro/status/831104041241497600
The rocket is getting prepared for launch from the First Launch Pad (FLP) at Sriharikota High Altitude Range (SHAR), India’s main rocket launching facility at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
On 13 February 2017, the Mission Readiness Review (MRR) committee and the Launch Authorisation Board (LAB) cleared the countdown to the launch. The 28 hour countdown began at 05:28 AM. The fourth stage of the rocket was then loaded with Mono Methyl Hydrazine (MMH) propellant and the Mixed Oxides of Nitrogen (MON-3) oxidiser.
The launch is scheduled for 9:28 AM on 15 February. There are a number of options available for users to catch all the action from the comfort of their homes.
Doordarshan will telecast the launch operations live, with a pre-launch program starting from 8:50AM. Isro will also be streaming the launch live on its site . Finally, a live web stream of the launch will also be available on the Doordarshan YouTube channel .
The flight of the rocket is expected to last sixteen minutes. The satellites will start separating after that, over a period of roughly ten minutes. The CartoSat-2D will be deployed first, followed by pairs of the nanosatellites. The nanosatellites are packed into quadpack dispensers for being released into orbit. The entire operation is expected to last about 28 minutes.
For those unable to catch the action live, the stream will be available on YouTube, and there are repeated telecasts scheduled over the course of the day. The DD LiveStream can be seen right here.
This story is a part of a series on the world record launch of 104 satellites on a single mission by Isro. The stories in the series are:
- Isro aims for a World record, to launch 83 satellites on a single rocket
- ISRO to launch world record 100 satellites in the PSLV-C37 mission scheduled for February
- Launching 103 satellites is not about setting a record, but to maximise capability, says ISRO chief
- Isro adds another passenger to the PSLV-C37 mission, 104 satellite launch rescheduled to mid February
- Isro plans to involve Indian industries to increase satellite launch capacity
- Isro’s mid-February PSLV-C37 launch of 104 satellites to have 88 satellites from Planet Labs
- Isro chief AS Kiran Kumar outlines the various uses of Indian satellites to students
- Isro’s PSLV-C37 launch scheduled for 15 February at 9:00 AM, here are the confirmed details
- Isro is going to break these previous satellite launch records with the PSLV-C37 mission
- Isro to recover half the cost of record breaking PSLV-C37 launch from foreign customers
- Isro PSLV-C37 record breaking mission run up: A history of rockets and launch vehicles in India
- Isro PSLV-C37 mission: The US private sector is threatened by cheap Indian spaceflight
- Isro has plans to go to Venus and visit Mars again in the future, along with 104 satellites launch on 15 Feb
- Isro’s record breaking PSLV-C37 mission: These are the 104 satellites on board