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PSLV-C43 launch highlights: Mission successful, all 31 satellites have been placed successfully in orbit

tech2 News Staff Nov 29, 2018 15:52:37 IST

ISRO has successfully used the PSLV-C43 rocket to put all the 31 satellites into Earth's orbit.

PSLV-C43 launch LATEST updates:  ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation)  has successfully released all 31 of the satellites in the PSLV-C43 mission into their respective places in orbit.

In a 112 minute-long mission, the PSLV-C43 lifted off from its Sriharikota launchpad, released ISRO's HySIS (Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite) at an altitude of 640 kilometres, and then descended to release the other 30 satellites at 504 kilometres in two separate group.

A live stream of the launch was begun at 9.30 am IST here on ISRO's website or on DD National, leading upto a liftoff as planned at 9.58 am IST.

The PSLV launcher on the first launch pad at Sriharikota. Image courtesy: ISRO

The live stream may include more than a few unfamiliar terms and abbreviations, so here's a primer with some of them:

PSLV - Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, India's most reliable rocket.
HySIS - An satellite designed and built by ISRO, the 'Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite' or HySIS, is among many Earth observation satellites being launched today. It is the only Indian satellite onboard PSLV-CA in the PSLV-C43 mission
CA - A PSLV rocket variant without strap-on motors is called the PSLV-CA, where CA stands for Core Alone. The core-only configuration of the PSLV that doesn't have the 6 additional strap-on motors that other PSLVs like the -G and -XL do.
CubeSat - an easily configurable nanosatellite platform that was originally developed for academic purposes.
INS - ISRO Nano Satellite, an indigenous standard similar to the CubeSat
SDSC - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India's main rocket launching facility. India still launches sounding rockets from its first launch facility, Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS).
SHAR - Sriharikota High Altitude Range, the particular facility in SDSC that launches rockets. Often used interchangeably with SDSC.
FLP - First Launch Pad, the launch pad being used for the PSLV-C37 mission. There are two active launch pads at SDSC, and a third one is planned.
SSO - Sun-Sychronous Orbit is an orbit where satellites pass over a point at the same time every day. This orbit is particularly useful for imaging the earth, as it offers consistent lighting across many passes. A mid morning pass is ideal as it has the least amount of shadows.
ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation
Antrix - The commercial arm of Isro, responsible for getting marketing India's launch services. Antrix negotiated the deals to get the 101 foreign satellites on board.

 

The story is part of a series on the PSLV-C43 mission, of which there are more:

 

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highlights

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  • 14:43 (IST)

    ISRO tweets an overview of the sucessful launch

    A tweet from ISRO gives a tidy summary of everything they have accomplished with today's successful mission.

  • 13:39 (IST)

    Amit Shah in the house!

    BJP President Amit Shah wished ISRO on yet another successful launch.

  • 13:12 (IST)

    Rajyavardhan Rathore tweets his congrats

    Indian Olympian-turned-Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports and Information & Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore was also among those that tweeted out congratulations to ISRO after the launch.

  • 12:37 (IST)

    M K Stalin wishes ISRO for its launch success

    DMK President M K Stalin tweeted out congratulations, adding that ISRO's work is a matter of great pride to India.

  • 12:24 (IST)

    Arun Jaitley tweets his good wishes

    Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Arun Jaitley, tweeted out a hearty congratulations to ISRO.

  • 12:14 (IST)

    Harsh Vardhan tweets his congratulations to ISRO

    Dr Harsh Vardhan, India's Minister of Science & Technology, Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Earth Sciences congratulates ISRO on launching HySIS successfully.

  • 12:11 (IST)

    Status Check from HySIS

    Early tests on the HySIS's performance an hour and half after it was released have confirmed that the solar panels are now open and its antennas in position! All vitals looking great on HySIS, ISRO engineers have confirmed.

  • 12:06 (IST)

    "Beautiful view for this important mission for all of us"

    Director of ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre congratulated Team ISRO and added: This was a beautiful mission, and a unique one — particularly HySIS, which is a novel and important satellite that India can put to use in the near future.

  • 12:02 (IST)

    Sivan talks about ISRO's upcoming missions

    "In ISRO's next mission, we're going to have another mission, GSAT-11, the heaviest satellite India has made so far, launched from French Guinea on 5 December," Sivan says to press.

    "These missions are not just for ISRO, they are for all of India... I congratulate Team ISRO on completing such a wonderful launch mission within two weeks of another big mission." 

  • 11:57 (IST)

    K Sivan congratulates the mission team

    "Once again the PSLV has injected 30 customer satellites into their designated home. With HySIS, I'm sure the team ISRO team can be proud that they are giving India an excellent asset in space," says a cheerful K Sivan to ISRO engineers, foreign customers and press.

  • 11:52 (IST)

    Mission Success!

    All 31 of the satellites in PSLV-C43 launch mission are out in orbit!

  • 11:51 (IST)

    Off go the little ones

    A string of the 30 tiny satellites have been dropped out of the PSLV's open doors starting with InnoSAT-2, ten seconds apart from one another. 

  • 11:47 (IST)

    Second restart of fourth stage a success!

    The engines of PSLV's fourth stage are back alive to direct the second batch of satellites to release.

  • 11:45 (IST)

    What ISRO's HySIS can do

    HySIS (Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite) is an earth-observation satellite that provides ISRO with imaging capabilities for a range of different uses: agriculture, forestry and assessing geological conditions in coastal zones, inland waterways and land. The data can also come in handy to the Indian military.

    The satellite carries 2 payloads: one to capture images in visible near-infrared (VNIR) range of the light spectrum, and another for shortwave infrared (SWIR) imaging. It can be used to map the country's geology across many different terrains.

    HySIS is expected to last 5 years as an added pair of eyes on Earth’s orbit.

  • 11:35 (IST)

    Orbit Change

    The PSLV-CA rocket is in the middle of an orbit change from the Geosynchronous orbit into which HySIS was released, to the sun-synchronous orbit into which the 30 other micro-and nano-satellites will be released.

    Malaysia's InnoSAT-2 will be the first one out of the PSLV 10 minutes from now.

  • 10:59 (IST)

    The BlackSky team waits patiently for more news

    The makers of Global-1, a nanosatellite on today's flight roster built by BlackSky, seems to be eager and restless for more updates! Global-1 will join its existing companions in a planned network of 60 microsatellites to build on the company's imaging capabilities. It can produce 1000 images per day, be in the forms of stills or video, according to BlackSky.
     

  • 10:52 (IST)

    #ICYMI: Another recap of the rocket's liftoff

    Here's a look at DD National's coverage of the PSLV-C43's liftoff an hour ago.

  • 10:40 (IST)

    #ICYMI: A recap of PSLV's takeoff

    If you're just catching up with ISRO's satellite launch today, here's a look at the PSLV-C43 rocket just seconds after liftoff.

    The liftoff, stage seperate for the first, second and third rocket stages has gone as exactly as planned, and India's newest earth observation satellite HySIS was injected in low-Earth orbit successfully.

  • 10:36 (IST)

    View of HySIS from the ground

    The first satellite to be released in today's mission is within ISRO's line-of-sight till it is powered up and moved into its final position. Here's a look at India's newest earth observation satellite from the launchpad 

  • 10:32 (IST)

    PSLV cruising in its descent to a lower altitude

    The PSLV will coast along for another 45 minutes before ISRO comes back online for the next big milestone: to release the 29 nanosatellites and 1 microsatellite that hitched a ride with HySIS.
     

  • 10:18 (IST)

    HySIS released into orbit!

    ISRO has successfully placed India's earth observation satellite HySIS into orbit! A happy team of mission engineers cheer in celebration.

  • 10:16 (IST)

    The fourth stage reused in the mission

    The PSLV launcher has been designed by ISRO to be reused during this part of the launch, and the engines will be restarted more than once to release the satellites at different altitudes.

  • 10:10 (IST)

    Fourth stage ignited

    The PSLV's fourth stage has been fired up as the rocket begins its descent from 640 kilometres, where HySIS was released, to an altitude of 500 kilometres to release the other 30 satellites on board. 

  • 10:06 (IST)

    Third stage seperates before HySIS release

    The third of PSLV's four stages has now detatched from the rocket successfully!

    The PSLV has begun to coast in the zero-gravity of low-Earth orbit to release India's HySIS satellite into place.

  • 10:03 (IST)

    Heatshield has separated successfully!

    The launcher has crossed an altitude of 200 kilometres, with the first stage now seperated from the rocket and the second stage taking over to thrust it through the atmosphere.

    A big milestone: the heat shield protecting the satellites at the rocket's helm has now seperated as planned.

  • 09:58 (IST)

    Liftoff!

    The PSLV-C43 rocket has left the launchpad to cheers from the ISRO mission control.

  • 09:57 (IST)

    All systems are ready to liftoff

    ISRO has announced that the PSLV is ready for its liftoff in one short minute!

  • 09:55 (IST)

    Team Hiber from Netherlands is among those eagerly awaiting takeoff

    HIBER-1 is an IoT satellite from the Netherlands, HIBER-1 is a pathfinder mission for Hiber Global's planned Cubesat network of communications satellites in orbit. The Hiber constellation is intended to grow to 50-strong by 2020, with similar Cubesats designed to provide IoT connectivity to sensors and devices here on Earth.

  • 09:55 (IST)

    Mission Director signals countdown to liftoff

    The PSLV-C43 mission director gives a thumbs up ahead of the rocket's liftoff

  • 09:51 (IST)

    BlackSky HQ getting ready to watch the launch

    An earth observation satellite built by BlackSky, USA, Global-1 will join its existing companions in a planned network of 60 microsatellites to build on the company's imaging capabilities.

  • 09:49 (IST)

    Reaktor Hello World satellite

     An earth observation satellite built by Reaktor Space Labs in Finland, Hello World is a proof-of-concept to demonstrate a new infrared imaging technology and a platform called 'Hello World' for future low-Earth orbit and deep space missions.

  • 09:44 (IST)

    Here's the link for the live stream of the event

  • 09:42 (IST)

    Here's a short summary from ISRO on the mission

  • 09:32 (IST)

    Last updates from the launchpad

    Last we heard from ISRO, the PSLV rocket is fuelled and ready for its liftoff in 28 minutes from now.

     

  • 09:26 (IST)

    What the 31 satellites will do once they're up in orbit

    Here's everything you need to know about HySIS and its 30 microsatellite companions part of today's launch mission.

  • 09:23 (IST)


    HySIS is India's newest earth-observation satellite,

    India's newest earth-observation satellite HySIS is built to provide better imaging capabilities for agriculture, forestry and assessing geological conditions in coastal zones, inland waterways and land.

    The other 30 small satellites onboard are a mix of satellites for imaging, communications and science experiments.

  • 09:18 (IST)

    Good morning!

    We're excited and all set to follow ISRO's PSLV-C43 launch today.

    In today's mission, ISRO will fire up its PSLV rocket to place India's HySIS satellite and 30 other commercial satellites in low-Earth orbit. 


     

    • read more



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