ISRO PSLV C 3 | Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

ISRO PSLV C 3 | Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

Indian Space Research Organisation launched the second commercial launch on 22^nd October, 2001 one Indian and two foreign satellites from Sriharikota High Altitude Range (now called Satish Dhawan Space Centre) through the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C3 (PSLV C3). Out of the three satellites launched by PSLV C3, one belonged to India (TES – Technology Experimental Satellite), one from Germany (BIRD – Bispectral and Infrared Remote Detection) and the other one from Belgium (PROBA – Project for Onboard Autonomy).

The TES of India was the main payload weighing 1108 kilograms. The BIRD of Belgium was of 94 kilograms and the German PROBA weighed 92 kilograms, both being microsatellites. The three satellites were launched for the purpose of earth observation and remote sensing. TES and BIRD were deployed in a polar sun synchronous circular orbit (PSSO) of 568 kilometers and PROBA was injected into an elliptical sun synchronous orbit of 568 km x 638 km with an inclination of 97.79 degrees.

This is the second time that three satellites were successfully launched by PSLV. The first time was when PSLV had launched Indian satellite IRS P-4 along with the German DLR and the Korean KITSAT-3 in May, 1999.

The PSLV 3 had six strap-on motors, four of which were ignited for initiating the launch and the remaining two were fired 25 seconds after the lift-off. All the three satellites were successfully deployed in their respective orbits.

The launch by PSLV 3 has further given impetus to the next space adventures including Astrosat, the Indian first space telescope which was launched in 2015. Encouraged by the efficient functioning of Astrosat, ISRO has prepared plans to launch its successor Astrosat-2 when the former nears the completion of its five-year lifespan.