Achieved important milestone in PSLV's history by launching its 50th mission: ISRO chief

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Dr Kailasavadivoo Sivan on Wednesday said that an important milestone has been achieved in the history of India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

"Today, we achieved an important milestone in the history of PSLV by successfully launching its 50th mission," Sivan said after PSLV-C48 successfully launched RISAT-2BR1 along with nine commercial satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre here in the vehicle's fiftieth flight.

"PSLV-C48 lifted-off at 1525 Hrs (IST) from the First Launchpad. After 16 minutes and 23 seconds, RISAT-2BR1 was successfully injected into an orbit of 576 km. Subsequently, nine commercial satellites were injected into their intended orbits," said a press release.

After separation, the two solar arrays of RISAT-2BR1 were deployed automatically and the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network at Bengaluru assumed control of the satellite. In the coming days, the satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration.

"A book titled 'PSLV@ 50' was also released by Dr Sivan on this occasion. He further added that this versatile launcher has lifted off 52.7 tonnes into space, of which 17 percent belongs to customer satellites," it said.

RISAT-2BR1 is a radar imaging earth observation satellite that weighs about 628 kg.

"The satellite will provide services in the field of Agriculture, Forestry and Disaster Management. The mission life of RISAT-2BR1 is five years. Dr Sivan appreciated the efforts of the launch vehicle and satellite teams for realizing this mission in a short span of time," it added.

The nine customer satellites of Israel, Italy, Japan, and the US, which were launched under a commercial arrangement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), were precisely injected into their designated orbits.

PSLV-C48 is the second flight of PSLV in the 'QL' configuration (with 4 solid strap-on motors). Besides being the 50th launch of PSLV, today's launch was also the 75th launch vehicle mission from Sriharikota. About 7000 visitors witnessed the launch live from the viewer's gallery here.