Satellite with PM pic, Bhagavad Gita lifts off
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 Indian Space Research Organisation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO on the success of the first dedicated commerciallaunch mission of PSLV-C51/Amazonia-1, saying it ushers in a new era of space reforms in the country.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also lauded ISRO, whose tally of foreign sattelites launched rose to 342 with the latest mission.
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.
According to SKI, the picture of Modi has been engraved on the top panel of the spacecraft to show solidarity and gratitude for his Atmanirbhar initiative and space sector reforms.
SRIHARIKOTA: India’s Polar rocket on Sunday successfully launched Amazonia-1 of Brazil and 18 other satellites from the spaceport here, in the first mission of the year for space agency ISRO.
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C51 lifted off at around 10.24 am from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) and first injected into orbit primary payload Amazonia-1 about 17 minutes later.
After a gap of over one-andhalf hours, the co-passenger satellites, including one from Chennaibased Space Kidz India (SKI), which is engraved with a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were launched subsequently one after another in the space of ten minutes in a textbook launch. SKI’s Satish Dhawan Satellite (SD-SAT) also carried Bhagavad Gita in a Secured Digital card format.
According to SKI, the picture of Modi has been engraved on the top panel of the spacecraft to show solidarity and gratitude for his Atma Nirbhar initiative and space sector privatisation.
A beaming Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Sivan announced the mission was successful and all 19 satellites were launched in precise orbits.
“Today is a very great day for the entire ISRO team and the PSLV-C51 is a special mission for India. Let me congratulate and compliment the team ISRO for achieving the precise injection of AMAZONIA-1 and 18 other satellites,” he said.
PSLV-C51 is the first dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), ISRO’s commercial arm, and the launch was watched among others by Brazilian government officials at the mission control centre here, over 100 kms from Chennai.
The 18 co-passenger satellites placed in the orbit are -- four from ISRO’s Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (three UNITY Sats from consortium of three Indian academic institutes and the SD-SAT from SKI) and 14 from NSIL.