ISRO’s maiden small satellite launch vehicle (SSLV), carrying earth observation satellite EOS-02 and co-passenger students satellite AzaadiSAT lifted off from this spaceport on Sunday. The SSLV-D1/EOS-02 mission by the Indian space agency is aimed at garnering a larger pie in the small launch vehicles market, as it can place the satellites into Low Earth Orbit.
“The SSLV can put payloads (mini, micro or nanosatellites) weighing up to 500 kg into the 500 km planar orbit,” the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. At the end of a seven-and-a-half-hour countdown, the 34-metre-long SSLV soared majestically at 9.18 am amid cloudy skies to place the satellites into the intended orbit.
The EOS-02 is an experimental optical remote sensing satellite with a high spatial resolution. EOS-02 belongs to the microsatellite series of space crafts. The AzaadiSAT is an 8U Cubesat weighing around 8kgs. Girl students from rural regions across the country were guided to build these payloads.
The payloads are integrated by the student team of Space Kidz India. “The ground system developed by ‘Space Kidz India’ will be utilised for receiving the data from this satellite,” ISRO said.
Published on
August 07, 2022
