ISRO getting the PSLV ready for launch at Sriharikota. | @isro
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up to launch European Space Agency’s (ESA) PROBA-3 satellites. ISRO will use its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C59 to send satellites weighing around 550 Kgs into a highly elliptical orbit. The satellite will be launched on Wednesday (December 4). Preparations are underway. ISRO has already made an announcement about it.
ESA’s PROBA-3 mission is an “In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) mission”. In a statement about the mission, ISRO said that the mission goal is to demonstrate ‘precise formation flying’.
ISRO’s PSLV is a launch vehicle that has the capability to carry satellites and other payloads to space.
PSLVC-59 will involve four stages of launch, said ISRO.
In its post, ISRO said that the mission exemplifies ‘trusted precision of PSLV’. First launch of India’s PSLV took place in 1994.
During its last launch (PSLV-C58), the PSLV took ISRO’s XPoSat to space. The launch, which took place on new year’s day on January 1, 2024, put XPoSat into an “Eastward low inclination orbit on January 01, 2024.”
With XPoSat, ISRO reached a milestone. It was India’s first dedicated satellite to carry out scientific observations and research along with space-based polarisation measurement of X-ray emission from celestial source.
