It’s quite a day for the India today, as the country’s space agency caps an unprecedented milestone in its history.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched a record 104 satellites, from seven different countries, into orbit today. The agency was using its PSLV-C37 workhorse for the mission, which had a previous best of 20 simultaneous satellite launches. The countdown for the launch of PSLV-C37/Cartosat2 Series satellite mission began at 5:28 AM soon after the Mission Readiness Review committee and Launch Authorisation Board gave its approval for lift off. PSLV first launched the 714 kg CARTOSAT-2 Series satellite for earth observation and then injected 103 co-passenger satellites, together weighing about 664 kg at lift-off into polar Sun Synchronous Orbit, about 520 km from Earth.
You can relive the event, as we captured it live, right below.
It's a 28-minute-long launch. At about 18 minutes the satellites will begin ejecting one by one.
Nano-satellite separations have begun.
As launch time hits 20 minutes, operator announces that for 6 minutes, base station will not receive updates. Satellite launches happening in pairs will be recorded on-board, then transmitted after to Sriharikota.
Cartosat-2, INS-1A/B have separated succesfully. Launch proceeding with textbook precision. Live updates here: https://t.co/qgO6c6UCkU #ISRO pic.twitter.com/9rJL0AsLTb — DNA (@dna) February 15, 2017
No signal from the vehicle for the next 6 mins while 40 pairs of satellites separate. Live updates here: https://t.co/qgO6c6UCkU #ISRO pic.twitter.com/UiYisd0ItO — DNA (@dna) February 15, 2017
There's now a confirmation, all 104 satellites have been successfully launched. The team at Sriharikota is applauding and congratulating each other.
ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar: "My hearty congratulations to the entire ISRO team for the wonderful job done."
Success! All 104 satellites injected into orbit -- a world record. ISRO makes history. Live updates here: https://t.co/qgO6c6UCkU #ISRO pic.twitter.com/AbpoImDc1d — DNA (@dna) February 15, 2017
Project Director B Jayakumar: "Doing something new in an innovative way is always a passion for ISRO team. "
"With this launch of 104 satellites into orbit we've created a new record. ISRO has launched 226 satellites, out of which 179 are from foreign nations."
"First obstacle our team had to overcome was finding real estate for the payload on board."
Congratulations to @isro for the successful launch of PSLV-C37 and CARTOSAT satellite together with 103 nano satellites! — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 15, 2017
This remarkable feat by @isro is yet another proud moment for our space scientific community and the nation. India salutes our scientists. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 15, 2017
"We're proud of this achievement, and we're already gearing up for other launches later this year," says P Kunhikrishnan, Director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota.
With this launch, PSLV racks up 38 successful consecutive launches, placing @Isro firmly among the space elite. https://t.co/qgO6c6UCkU pic.twitter.com/hBdScxeMj4 — DNA (@dna) February 15, 2017