ISRO PSLV-C46: RISAT-2B to be launched on PSLV-CA 22 May with live spectators

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be launching the 48th mission of the PSLV series — PSLV-C46 on 22 May 2019. The space rocket will be carrying an earth observation satellite RISAT-2B in the PSLV-Core Alone rocket’s fourth stage.

The rocket will be launched from the First Launch Pad (FLP) of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR in Sriharikota. Tentatively, the launch has been scheduled for 05.27 am, weather permitting.

RISAT-2B will be placed in an orbit 555 kilometers from Earth at a 37-degree inclination.

RISAT-2B, short for “Radar Imaging Satellite-2B”, is the second in a series of satellites used to observe weather conditions on Earth using radar imagery. Once operational, the satellite will be capable of monitoring weather day and night, in all weather conditions.

RISAT-2 was the first satellite in the series, launched for the purpose of surveillance. RISAT-1 was launched later, to become India’s first all-weather radar imaging satellite.

🇮🇳#ISROmissions 🇮🇳#PSLV-C46 set to launch #RISAT-2B from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 0527 Hrs IST on May 22, 2019, subject to weather conditions.
Updates will continue. pic.twitter.com/qj03CSKc0b

— ISRO (@isro) May 11, 2019

The PSLV-C46 mission is ISRO’s 48 PSLV launch, and the 14th PSLV Core-Alone (CA) mission. The PSLV was the first of ISRO’s rockets to be equipped with liquid rocket stages. In the PSLV-CA version, the rocket doesn’t have the six strap-on boosters that larger rockets do, and only uses the four core stages of the PSLV to launch its payload.

For the second successive time, ISRO has made provisions for the launch to be viewed live by the general public in its newly-built viewing gallery at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

Registrations for the event will begin five days before the launch, i.e., 17 May 2019