ISRO creates a World record by launching 104 satellites

ISRO reached yet another milestone. From its splendid journey of transporting the rockets on the bullock carts to reaching the stars, the persistence, dedication, and commitment of scientists has transformed the organization into an epitome of excellence. ISRO today scripted history by sending 104 satellites into space in a single go. On January 4^th 2017, ISRO announced that India will launch 104 satellites in one go at the Indian Science Congress held at Tirupati. Since then there has been a palpable excitement among the scientific community. ISRO had steadily climbed the ladder of competitive global markets of small satellite launching with an incredible consistency and economy. It is now reckoned as an iconic leader in commercial satellite launches. ISRO last year launched 20 satellites in one go.  Russian rocket launcher Dpner, a transformed inter-continental ballistic missile by launching a maximum of 39 satellites into space in a single launch in June 2014 created a record. NASA in 2013 launched 29 satellites. With Tuesday’s launch ISRO aims to surpass the earlier records. ISRO with its upcoming launch aims to display India’s satellite launching prowess.

PSLV- C37, the heaviest of all the PSLV series of rocket launchers lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), SHAR, Sriharikota on Feb 15^th at 9:28 carrying 104 satellites. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) which has already earned a distinct reputation for its reliability and accuracy was specially designed to carry all these satellites. PSLV the formidable work-horse of ISRO in its XL configuration was assigned with the task of delivering the payloads.

PSLV-C37 weighing 320 ton and 44.4 m tall is a four-staged rocket launcher. On its thirty-ninth flight, 103 co-passengers accompanied the primary satellite Cartosat-2 series. Cartosat-2 with a work life of 5 years, weighing 714kg is an earth observation satellite like other four satellites in its series. This was injected into 505 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit and will soon resume its remote sensing services using its panchromatic and multispectral cameras. These images are used for cartographic applications and for monitoring road networks, water distribution and land use. It was designed to monitor activities across India’s hostile borders. The other two Indian satellites are the ISRO nano satellites- INS 1A and INS 1B. They are designed for scientific experimentation. INS 1A, with six-month mission life, weighing 8.4kg has two pay loads - Surface Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function Radiometer and Single Event Upset Monitor. INS 1B, with six-month life cycle, weighs 9.7 kg and carries two pays - Earth Exosphere Lyman Alpha Analyzer and Origami Camera.

Of the remaining 101 satellites- 96 are from US, others are from Kazakhstan, Israel, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and UAE.  The total weight of all satellites on board PSLV-C37 is 1378 kg.  Satellites from US are mostly DOVE Flock-3P (designed and operated by Planet Inc) fleet of remote sensing satellites designed to earth every day for commercial, environmental, and humanitarian purposes and LEMUR satellites of Spire Global Inc are meant for weather measurements and tracking vessels using Automatic Identification System (AIS). The average weight of DOVE and LEMUR satellites is around 4.7 kg. Satellites from other countries are basically for technology demonstration and weigh less than 4.5 kg.

Though ISRO has convincingly demonstrated its impeccable scientific mettle earlier by sending 20 satellites simultaneously, the latest feat is five times more challenging. Science enthusiasts are increasingly curious as how ISRO will carry out this exceedingly excruciating task of putting 100 odd satellites into different orbits with precision. Dr. K. Sivan, director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre explained that “the satellites will be separated from the launch vehicle in different directions. The separation angle and time of separation will be such that one satellite will not collide with another”. He pondered that each satellite separated from launch vehicle will have a relative velocity of one meter per second. So, the distance between satellite and vehicle after 1000 seconds will be 1000 meters. “The satellite that gets launched first will move at relatively faster velocity than the next satellite that is launched. Due to different relative velocities, the distance between the satellites will increase continuously but the orbit will be the same”. Thus, a degree of difference in separation angle together with relative velocity would ensure that no two satellites would ever collide. Further care would be taken for the orbital disturbances to die before preparing the satellite for separation. Moreover, “satellites will be injected into orbit at different locations at different angles, at different times and different orientations”. In less than 600 seconds, all satellites travelling at velocity of 27,000km per hour will be released into space. This scientific spectacle would thus be internationally judged for its immaculate execution.

ISRO’s resilient journey marred by several debacles over the decades had steadily acclaimed scientific reputation due to the phenomenal success rate of the trusted work-horse PSLV. India’s rapid march towards space exploration with its projects Chandrayaan-1 and Mangalyaan has placed India among the elite group of technologically advanced countries. Satellite launching industry is growing at a tremendous pace. As of now there are few reliable players in the market. India till now has launched 122 satellites of which 79 are of foreign payloads. From 2011 till August 2016, the commercial wing of ISRO, Antrix Corporation made a profit of Rs 896 crores. ISRO at present is carrying out 5-6 launches and plans to increase launches to 18 to substantially increase its revenue. ISRO’s current launch slated for Feb 15^th, if successful will greatly boost its position in the global satellite launching market.

ISRO is all now gearing up for much bolder space missions. Accordingly, government has increased fund allocation to Department of Space by 26% making provisions for Mars Orbiter Mission-II and Mission to Venus. France has expressed willingness to collaborate with ISRO for the second Mars mission slated for 2021-22. NASA is willing to partner with ISRO in India’s maiden voyage to Venus, the planet named after Goddess of love and beauty.

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