According to ISRO, India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its 51st flight (PSLV-C49), successfully launched EOS-01 along with nine international customer satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota on November 07, 2020.
PSLV-C49 lifted-off at 1511 Hrs (IST), after a delay of nine minutes because of inclement weather conditions observed during countdown. After 15 minutes and 20 seconds, EOS-01 was successfully injected into its orbit. Subsequently, nine commercial satellites were injected into their intended orbits. After separation, the two solar arrays of EOS-01 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.
EOS-01 is an earth observation satellite, intended for applications in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support.
“PSLV-C49 successfully placed all ten satellites precisely into their orbit” Chairman, ISRO, Dr. K. Sivan declared. He congratulated both the launch vehicle and satellite teams for rising to the occasion amidst the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, and called the mission a “special and unusual” mission. ISRO had to “work with limited staff and following all the procedures outlined by the government…without compromising any of the quality”. Dr. K. Sivan also briefed the mission control and media about upcoming missions.
The nine customer satellites from Lithuania (1), Luxembourg (4) and USA (4) were launched under a commercial arrangement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL). The customer satellites were launched under commercial agreement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), Department of Space.
ISRO has listed briefly their details:
PSLV-C49 is the 2nd flight of PSLV in ‘DL’ configuration (with 2 solid strap-on motors). Besides being the 51st launch of PSLV, the launch was also the 76th launch vehicle mission from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.
