India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket is expected to put 14 satellites into orbit in about 27 minutes after its lift off at 9.28 a.m. on November 27 from the second launch pad at the Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be sending up its PSLV-XL variant with 14 satellites.
While the main luggage will be India’s 1,625 kg Cartosat-3 satellite, 13 nano satellites from the US will be sharing the ride for a fee to be paid to NewSpace India Ltd – the new commercial arm of ISRO.
About 17 minutes into its flight, the PSLV rocket will first sling into orbit Cartosat-3 which will have a mission life of five years.
According to ISRO, Cartosat-3 is a third generation agile advanced satellite having high resolution imaging capability. To be placed in an orbit of 509 km at an inclination of 97.5 degrees, the satellite will furnish images that cater to the demand of urban planning, rural resource and infrastructure development, coastal land use and land cover and others.
At about a minute later, the first of the 13 US nano satellites will be put into orbit. The final nano satellite will be ejected into its intended orbit at 26 minutes and 50 seconds from the lift-off of the PSLV rocket.
According to ISRO, 12 of the US nano satellites are named as FLOCK-4P are earth observation satellites and the 13th is called MESHBED, a communication test bed satellite.
The 44-metre-tall, about 320 ton PSLV-XL is a four stage/engine rocket powered by solid and liquid fuels alternatively. The rocket has six strap-on booster motors to give additional thrust during the initial flight stages.
