When India on Wednesday became the first nation in the world to have launched over a hundred satellites in one mission, the ISRO PSLV rocket carried onboard payloads from six different countries.
Here are the details.
UNITED STATES- 96 satellites from 2 companies
88 Doves from Planet Inc
The Dove satellites (collectively known as “Flock 3p”) are part of Planet’s 100 satellite “line scanner” constellation, comprising remote sensing nano satellites that will image the Earth every day
8 nanos from LEMUR
After its successful project with ISRO in 2015, San Francisco-based startup Spre Global Inc launched 8 LEMUR-2 nano satellites. The LEMUR satellites are part of a constellation of satellites that track ships
NETHERLANDS- PEASSS
The PiezoElectric Assisted Smart Satellite Structure (PEASSS) is a 3 kg technology demonstration nanosatellite from the Netherlands. It is a European Space project in the FP7 framework. The objective of the PEASSS project is to develop, manufacture, test and qualify “smart structures” which combine next generation sensors, for autonomously improved pointing accuracy and power generation
SWITZERLAND- DIDO-2
The DIDO-2 is a 4.2-kg microgravity research nanosatellite built by SpacePharma, founded by former heads of Israeli intelligence and satellite units, from Switzerland. The satellite is a platform for conducting biochemical and physical experiments in microgravity, allowing scientists to investigate phenomena that are normally obscured by gravity on Earth
ISRAEL- BGUSat
BGUSat is Israeli academia’s first nanosatellite, weighing 4.3 kg, built by Ben Gurion University in association with Israeli Aerospace Industries.
KAZHAKSTAN- Al-Farabi-1
Al-Farabi 1 is a 2U CubeSat weighing 1.7 kg, built by students of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. The satellite is built as an educational mission with the secondary mission to work out uplink/downlink, ADCS Mission algorithms and testing of self-made components.
UAE- Nayif-1
Nayif-1 weighing 1.1 kg is UAE’s first CubeSat mission aiming to make space technologies more accessible to UAE universities. It was built by Mohammed bin-Rashid Space Centre, Dubai.
Besides the 101 satellites from 6 countries, India's own two nano satellites were a part of the mission.
INS-1A
INS-1B
Still wondering why the total count is still 103? Apart from the 101 foreign payloads and 2 Indian nano satellilites, the PSLV's main payload was the Cartosat-2.
The primary payload, Cartosat-2, has a mass of 714 kg. It will provide remote sensing services. Useful for cartographic applications, urban and rural applications, besides for coastal land use and regulation, road network monitoring, water distribution, detection of geographical changes and other LIS (Land Information System) and GIS (Georgraphic Information System) application, used for land use mapping.