CHENNAI: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully put the latest remote sensing satellite Resourcesat-2A, weighing 1,235 kg, into polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) on board PSLV-C36 on Wednesday.
This time there was only one satellite on board unlike on previous occasions where several smaller satellites were accommodated as co-passengers. Officials said the decision was taken to go solo due to the steep altitude, which is not so conducive for the nano satellites.
ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar said the solar panels have been deployed and termed the launch as 'perfect'. "We have used 5 cameras in the rocket to record the separation of various stages".
The rocket blast-off from the First Launch Pad (FLP) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota at 10.24 am. The ISRO officials they have used the 'XL' version of PSLV with six solid strap-on motors to lift up the satellite.
Resourcesat-2A is a follow-on mission to Resourcesat-1 and Resourcesat-2 launched in 2003 and 2011. It is intended for resource monitoring and to continue the remote sensing data services to global users.
The satellite carries three payloads, including high-resolution Linear Imaging Self Scanner (LISS-4), two solid state recorders with a capacity of 200 Giga Bits each to store the images taken by its cameras which can be read out later to ground stations, ISRO said.
Officials said the filling of the fourth stage was done totally in a remote fashion, which will set the tone for a future mission. New safety features are also incorporated.