Isro's Launch Authorisation Board gives nod for July 10 launch

The rocket will carry five British satellites, together weighing around 1,440 kg heighest ever carried by Isro's rocket

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro's) Launch Authorisation Board (LAB) at its meeting on Tuesday has given its nod for the July 10 launch.

Officials said that the Mission Readiness Review (MRR) committee and Launch Authorisation Board (LAB) have cleared the starting of the 62-and-half hour countdown of PSLV-C28/DMC3 Mission for tomorrow on July 08, 2015 at 07:28 hours.

Isro's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) XL variant will carry five British satellites on July 10 at 21.:58 hours from Sriharikota space station, near Chennai.

Sources said that the four stage/engine PSLV rocket in XL variant is scheduled to be launched at 9.58 p.m. on July 10 and the 62.5-hour countdown is expected to start at 7.28 a.m. on July 8.

 
Of the five British satellites, together weighing around 1,440 kg, three are identical DMC3 optical earth observation satellites weighing 447 kg.

France's SPOT 7 satellite weighing 714 kg was the heaviest single foreign satellite carried by a PSLV rocket till now. It was launched on June 30, 2014.?

The British satellites will be put into a 647-km sun-synchronous orbit.Of the other two satellites, CBNT-1 weighs 91 kg and also is an optical earth observation technology demonstration microsatellite, while the De-OrbitSail weighs 7 kg.

Isro said that this is an experimental nano satellite for demonstration of large thin membrane sail and drag deorbiting.

The three DMC3 and the CBNT-1 satellites are built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. The De-OrbitSail is built by Surrey Space Centre.

The three satellites each with a height of about three metres within the existing payload fairing or the heat shield of the PSLV was a challenge. Thus, a circular L-adaptor and a triangular Multiple Satellite Adapter-Version 2 (MSA-V2) were newly designed and realised by ISRO for this specific purpose, said Isro.