The Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO is set to launch the PSLV-C59/Proba-3 mission on Wednesday, December 4, at 4:06pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The mission, eagerly awaited by space enthusiasts, will deploy the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to place approximately 550 kg of satellites into a highly elliptical orbit.
The Proba-3 mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) will be launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-XL (PSLV-XL).
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) “In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) mission” is PROBA-3.
The space agency said on X regarding the expected launch: “The PSLV-C59/PROBA-3 Mission, the 61st flight of PSLV and the 26th using PSLV-XL configuration, is set to carry ESA’s PROBA-3 satellites (~550kg) into a highly elliptical orbit.”
A PSLV is a launch vehicle that assists in delivering satellites and other payloads to space in accordance with ISRO’s specifications. The first vehicle in India to have liquid stages is this launch vehicle. In October 1994, the first PSLV was successfully launched.
In order to finish the PSLV integration, the European team—which is presently in India—was able to safely envelop the spacecraft in the payload fairing. There was a dress rehearsal for the launch after the integration.