ISRO Successfully Launches 31 Satellites On A Single Rocket

The Indian Space Research Organisation on Friday successfully launched Cartosat-2 series satellite for earth observation along with 30 other satellites on a single rocket from the first launchpad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

The rocket, PSLV-C38, is carrying a 712 kg Cartosat-2 series satellite and 30 co-passenger nano satellites together weighing about 243 kg at lift-off into a 505 km sun synchronous orbit. Out of the 31 satellites that have been launched, two are Indian and the remaining 29 belong to other countries.

The 29 foreign nano satellites were launched as part of an arrangement between Antrix Corporation Limited, a government of India company that functions as ISRO’s commercial arm, and international customers from 14 countries, namely Austria, Belgium, Chile, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Cartosat-2 is a remote sensing satellite and its major objective is to provide high-resolution scene specific spot imagery. India’s ‘eye in the sky’ is set to become sharper and wider with the launch of a third spacecraft in Cartosat-2 series.

With inputs from ANI