CHENNAI: The Indian Space Research Organisation, with the PSLV-C28, is set to take up its second mission for the United Kingdom’s Surrey Satellite Technology Limited and Surrey Space Centre in what is to be its heaviest commercial launch ever. All of the latest launch’s payload will be made up of five satellites from the two entities.
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The last time the ISRO carried out a commercial launch for the two, it was a tiny 6.5 kg satellite called STRaND-1 - which went on to become the world’s first smartphone in space. The STRaND-1 was only one tiny portion of the PSLV-C20 mission, which carried other satellites from three other countries. This time, however, all five of the mission’s satellites have been built by the two UK-based concerns — weighing a whopping 1,440 kg, which is set to be ISRO’s heaviest commercial launch in history. The PSLV-C28 mission will carry three satellites from the DMC constellation, each weighing 447 kg, and two auxiliary satellites - the CBNT-1 and the De-OrbitSail.
The DMC constellation - the DMC-1, 2 and 3, have been built by the Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) and are advanced optical earth observation satellites designed to make high-spatial resolution and high temporal resolution images of the Earth. These satellites will be able to image any target on the Earth’s surface every day. The other two, the CBNT-1 and De-OrbitSail, are smaller experimental satellites. The 91 kg CBNT-1 is an optical Earth Observation technology demonstration micro satellite built by the SSTL.
Mission PSLV-C28
Satellites: DMC-1,2 and 3, CBNT-1 and De-OrbitSail
Payload: 1440 kg
Launch time: 9.58 PM, July 10