SRIHARIKOTA: In a precision launch, India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle- C16 placed on a 822-km sunsynchronous orbit three satellites – ResourceSat – 2, an Indo-Russian YouthSat and Singapore's first satellite X Sat, on Wednesday.
The launch went off as per schedule and the satellites were placed in orbit 18 minutes after blast off from the launch pad at the Sriharikota spaceport.
Wednesday's successful launch, which was the 17th consecutive one for India's space warhorse PSLV, has pushed up India'a remote sensing capabilities.
Indian Space Research Organisation chairman K Radhakrishnan said the launch was a grand success. "We wanted to put the satellites into a 820-km orbit, but we got an 822 km orbit," he said. The mission cost Rs 250 crore.
The launch was keenly watched across the world as data from ResourceSat – 2 will be used by 15 countries. The satellite, which weighs 1206 kg will collect data including those on ground water and mineral resources on land and fish density in the sea. The satellite is equipped with three cameras that can cover 740 km wide, 141 km wide and 17 km wide at resolutions ranging from 22 metres to 5 metres.
"The satellite will replace ResourceSat I which is in orbit since 2003. ResourceSat- 2 is a global mission and has many improvements. It has three cameras that can monitor natural resources at different resolutions. It can be used to monitor snow cover, glacier changes, urban landscape and others," said Radhakrishnan.
PSLV-C16 mission director Kunhikrishnan said all the stages of the rocket performed well. "The solid stage propulsion and liquid stage propulsion worked well and we were able to achieve the orbit in 18 minutes after the launch. The solar panel of ResourceSat- 2 has been deployed and the satellite was pushed to the second orbit soon. If all goes well with the satellite, the ground centre in Bangalore will start receiving images from April 18," he said.
The other payloads are 92-kg YouthSat, an Indo-Russian stellar and atmospheric satellite built with the participation of students from Universities. It is the second in A mini satellite series. The YouthSat mission intends to investigate the relationship between solar variability and upper layers of atmosphere.
The third one, X Sat, is Singapore's first satellite and weighs 106 kg. The mini satellite has a multispectral camera IRIS as its main load. The satellite intends to demonstrate technologies related to satellite-based remote sensing and onboard image processing.
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The launch went off as per schedule and the satellites were placed in orbit 18 minutes after blast off from the launch pad at the Sriharikota spaceport.
Wednesday's successful launch, which was the 17th consecutive one for India's space warhorse PSLV, has pushed up India'a remote sensing capabilities.
Indian Space Research Organisation chairman K Radhakrishnan said the launch was a grand success. "We wanted to put the satellites into a 820-km orbit, but we got an 822 km orbit," he said. The mission cost Rs 250 crore.
The launch was keenly watched across the world as data from ResourceSat – 2 will be used by 15 countries. The satellite, which weighs 1206 kg will collect data including those on ground water and mineral resources on land and fish density in the sea. The satellite is equipped with three cameras that can cover 740 km wide, 141 km wide and 17 km wide at resolutions ranging from 22 metres to 5 metres.
"The satellite will replace ResourceSat I which is in orbit since 2003. ResourceSat- 2 is a global mission and has many improvements. It has three cameras that can monitor natural resources at different resolutions. It can be used to monitor snow cover, glacier changes, urban landscape and others," said Radhakrishnan.
PSLV-C16 mission director Kunhikrishnan said all the stages of the rocket performed well. "The solid stage propulsion and liquid stage propulsion worked well and we were able to achieve the orbit in 18 minutes after the launch. The solar panel of ResourceSat- 2 has been deployed and the satellite was pushed to the second orbit soon. If all goes well with the satellite, the ground centre in Bangalore will start receiving images from April 18," he said.
The other payloads are 92-kg YouthSat, an Indo-Russian stellar and atmospheric satellite built with the participation of students from Universities. It is the second in A mini satellite series. The YouthSat mission intends to investigate the relationship between solar variability and upper layers of atmosphere.
The third one, X Sat, is Singapore's first satellite and weighs 106 kg. The mini satellite has a multispectral camera IRIS as its main load. The satellite intends to demonstrate technologies related to satellite-based remote sensing and onboard image processing.
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