SRIHARIKOTA: Upon the successful launch of PSLV-C19, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Radhakrishnan jumped out of his seat to congratulate his team and shake hands. The launch was the 20th consecutive of ISRO’s workhorse PSLV platform.
“The mission is a grand success. It was very precise. The target orbit altitude was 480 km with a margin of 20 km. Initial data shows RISAT-1 was injected into orbit at an altitude of 470 to 480 km,” he declared.
He added that the altitude of the satellite would be raised on the third day, to its final orbit, and that imaging could be expected to begin on the fifth day. He also noted that the important step of deploying the solar panels and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) had taken place smoothly.
Former ISRO Chairman UR Rao and Prof Yashpal were among the ISRO veterans to view the launch proceedings from the gallery. They reserved praise for Mission Director P Kunhikrishnan and Project Director N Valarmathi.