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India lofts 104 satellites to set single-launch record
In a record-breaking flight , ISRO ’ s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle ( PSLV ) successfully orbited the 714 kg Cartosat-2 Series satellite along with 103 co-passenger satellites on February 15 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota , India .
PSLV-C37 lifted off at 9:28 am IST , as planned , from the First Launch Pad . After a flight of 16 minutes 48 seconds , the satellites achieved a polar Sun synchronous orbit of 506 km inclined at an angle of 97.46 degrees to the equator . In the succeeding 12 minutes , all 104 satellites successfully separated from the PSLV fourth stage in a predetermined sequence beginning with Cartosat-2 series satellite , followed by INS-1 and INS-2 .
After separation , the two solar arrays of Cartosat-2 series satellite were deployed automatically and ISRO ’ s Telemetry , Tracking and Command Network at Bangalore took over the control of the satellite . The satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration following which it will begin to provide remote sensing services using its panchromatic ( black and white ) and multispectral ( colour ) cameras .
The co-passenger satellites comprised of 101 nano satellites , one each from Kazakhstan , Israel , Netherlands , Switzerland , United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) and 96 from the United States , as well as two nano satellites from India .
Among the 96 American satellites were 88 Dove satellites from Planet , a San Francisco based imaging company . It was the 15th launch of Dove satellites , which comprise the largest private satellite constellation in history , totalling 149 satellites .
PSLV-C37 also carried two ISRO Nano satellites ( INS-1A and INS-1B ), as co-passenger satellites . These two satellites carry a total of four different payloads from Space Applications Centre ( SAC ) and Laboratory for Electro Optics Systems ( LEOS ) of ISRO for conducting various experiments .
This was the sixteenth flight of PSLV in the ‘ XL ’ configuration which includes the use of solid strap-on motors . The total weight of the 104 satellites carried on-board PSLV-C37 was 1378 kg ( 3038 lb ).
India ’ s PSLV-C37 rocket lifts off with the Cartosat-2 Series satellite as well as 103 smaller co-passenger satellites . Credit : ISRO