Launches military satellite Microsat-R on PSLV C-44 with just 2 strap-on motors
- Under a starry night and a waning gibbous moon, ISRO’s PSLV C-44 broke the silence over a brimming Pulicat lake as it lifted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, to successfully place into orbit a military satellite, Microsat-R.
- The mission with the modified PSLV with just two strap-on motors, dubbed the PSLV-DL (dual strap-ons), marked another first for ISRO as it provided an alternative to its normal six strap-on motors.
- This will enable it to carry slightly higher payloads than its Core-Alone version.
In low orbit
- Microsat-R, placed into orbit 13 and a half minutes after lift-off, is a defence application satellite.
- It is the first time an Indian satellite was being placed by ISRO in a low orbit at an altitude of 274 km ISRO also used this launch as an opportunity to demonstrate the usability of the fourth stage of the rocket after the satellites are ejected into orbit.
- “The first mission of 2019 is a grand success,” ISRO Chairman K. Sivan said from Mission Control.
- “Another innovation is the making the fourth stage, as an experimental platform to do technology demonstrations and carry out science experiments by students,” ISRO Chairman K.Sivan said.
For experiments
- This would enable any agency that wants to conducts experiments in space to use the fourth stage till it disintegrates naturally. The fourth stage of the rocket may be orbiting in space for six months to a year. ISRO is aiming to use this time-frame to enable agencies to run short time experiments.
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