Chennai: In its 50th PSLV mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation will launch ‘sharp eyed’ radar imaging earth observation satellite RISAT-2BR1, weighing 628 kg and nine commercial satellites from the spaceport of Sriharikota on 11 December.
ISRO in a release here said the launch would take place from the First Launch Pad (FLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. The launch is tentatively scheduled at 3.25 pm, subject to weather conditions.
ISRO said ”RISAT2BR1 & 9 commercial satellites will be flown onboard PSLV-C48 at 1525 hrs on December 11”. About 16 minutes after the lift off and ignition and separation of all the four stages, RISAT-2BR1 will get separated from the launch vehicle and injected into an orbit of 576 km at an inclination of 37 deg to the equator. In the next five minutes, the foreign customers would be separated and injected into the orbit. The entire flight duration would last about 21 minutes.
PSLV-C48 will also carry piggyback nine foreign satellites, that included six from the United States and one each from Israel, Italy and Japan. These international customer satellites will be launched under a commercial arrangement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of ISRO.