Indian PSLV set to launch two British satellites from Sriharikota

Today, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch PSLV C-42 into orbit carrying two international satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will put into orbit two foreign satellites - NovaSAR and S1-4 – together.

The two earth observation satellites-Nova SAR and S1-4 have been developed by Surrey Satellite Technologies Limited (SSTL), United Kingdom under commercial arrangement with Antrix Corporation Limited, Department of Space.

Both the British satellites that weigh around 889 kgs, will be launched into a 583 km Sun Synchronous Orbit. NovaSAR is an S-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite intended for forest mapping, land use and ice cover monitoring, flood and disaster monitoring. S1-4 is a high resolution Optical Earth Observation Satellite, used for surveying resources, environment monitoring, urban management and for the disaster monitoring.

The foreign satellites would be released into sun synchronous orbit at a height of 583 km. The mission is a commercial arrangement between the company and Antrix Corporation Limited, which is the commercial wing of ISRO. This would be the 44th flight of the PSLV and the third launch by ISRO this year. In January, PSLV-C40 launched India's weather observation satellite Cartosat 2 Series and PSLV-C41 launched IRNSS - 1I navigation satellite in April.