 "Isro's Earth observation satellite lifts off: Its link to Gaganyaan mission")
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Friday launched its third and final developmental flight, Small Satellite Launch Vehicle-D3, carrying Earth Observation Satellite EOS-08.
The rocket took off at 9.17 am from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh.
With this, the Isro has successfully places the EOS-08 satellite and SR-0 DEMOSAT passenger satellite into 475 km circular orbit.
Small satellite launch vehicles are designed to deploy smaller satellites weighing between 10 and 500 kg, into a 500 km low Earth orbit. The EOS-08 mission is first-of-a-kind, built on the standard Isro Microsat/ IMS-1 platform.
According to Isro, the LV-D3-EOS-08 mission has two main objectives: to develop a microsatellite and to create payload instruments compatible with this microsatellite bus. The space agency said the EOS-08 carried three payloads, which are equipment used to perform experiments and gather data.
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Electro Optical Infrared Payload (EOIR)
The payload is designed to capture images in the Mid-Wave IR (MIR) and Long-Wave IR (LWIR) bands. It operates during both day and night, providing data for satellite-based surveillance, disaster monitoring, environmental observation, fire detection, volcanic activity tracking, and monitoring of industrial and power plant incidents.
Global Navigation Satellite System - Reflectometry payload (GNSS-R)
This payload will use GNSS-R-based remote sensing mechanisms for applications such as ocean surface wind analysis, soil moisture assessment, cryosphere studies over the Himalayan region, flood detection, and inland waterbody detection.
How is LV-D3-EOS-08 mission linked to the Gaganyaan mission?
The third payload on the satellite is the SiC UV Dosimeter, monitors UV irradiance at the viewport of the Crew Module in the Gaganyaan Mission and serves as a high-dose alarm sensor for gamma radiation.
The Gaganyaan mission is India’s maiden bid to undertake a human space flight mission to lower Earth orbit. The unmanned test flight of this mission to check preparedness may take off by the end of 2024.