ISRO launches Brazil’s Amazonia-1 satellite
SRIHARIKOTA: In the first dedicated mission of its commercial arm NSIL, the ISRO on Sunday successfully launched Brazil’s earth observation satellite Amazonia-1 and 18 co-passengers, including five built by students, onboard a Polar rocket from the spaceport here. The satellites were placed in precise orbits one after another after the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C51 lifted off at 10.24 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), in the first mission this year for the ISRO.
ISRO has lined up 14 missions for launch in 2021, including the space agency’s first unmanned mission later this year
— K Sivan, ISRO chief
In the first dedicated mission of its commercial arm NSIL, the ISRO successfully launched Brazil’s earth observation satellite Amazonia-1 and 18 co-passengers, including five built by students, onboard a Polar rocket from the spaceport here on Sunday.
The satellites were placed in precise orbits one after another after the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C51 lifted off at 10.24 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), in the first mission this year for the Indian Space Research Organisation.
The co-passengers included Satish Dhawan Satellite (SD-SAT) nano satellite from Chennai-based Space Kidz India (SKI) which is engraved with a picture of Modi and also carried Bhagavad Gita in a Secured Digital card format.
Amazonia-1, a fully Brazil built satellite with a mission life of four years, is intended for providing remote sensing data to users for monitoring deforestation in the Amazon region and analysis of diversified agriculture across the Brazilian territory.
Earlier, at the end of the 25.5 hour countdown, the four-stage 44.4 metre tall PSLV, a workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO in its 53rd mission, soared into clear a sky at the scheduled time of 10.24 am from the first launch pad here, over 100 kms from Chennai. “After a flight of about 17 minutes, the vehicle injected the Amazonia-1 into its intended orbit and in the succeeding 1 hour 38 minutes, all 18 co-passenger satellites successfully separated from the PSLV in a pre-determined sequence,” the ISRO said.
Describing it as a special mission for the country, ISRO Chairman K Sivan said the agency guided the universities in building the satellites, adding it will enthuse industry and academic institutions to build their own satellites in future.
Sivan, also the secretary, Department of Space, said the mission was also special as the five satellites come under the new space reforms announced by the Centre last year by opening the sector to private enterprises to carry out space activities. This mission was the first dedicated launch by the New Space India Limited (NSIL), a PSU set up under Department of Space in 2019, which undertook it under a commercial arrangement with Spaceflight Inc, a satellite rideshare and mission management provider based in Seattle,US.