India’s EMISAT satellite and 28 foreign nano satellites were on Monday successfully launched on board ISRO’s trusted workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here.
The rocket, PSLV-C45, injected the 436 kg EMISAT, aimed at electromagnetic measurement, and 28 co-passenger satellites belonging to Lithuania, Spain, Switzerland and the US, into their designated orbits, ISRO said.
The rocket lifted off majestically in a burst of orange flames at 9.27 am from the second launch pad at this spaceport at the end of the 27-hour countdown.
ISRO chief K Sivan and the space agency’s scientists broke into cheers as the EMISAT satellite was injected into 749 km orbit, 17 minutes after the lift-off.
All 28 customer satellites, totally weighing about 220 kg, were released into around 504 km orbit, after the fourth stage was reignited and lowered in a complex operation lasting around two hours.
Again, the fourth stage would be reignited and further lowered to 485 km orbit to serve as an orbital platform for carrying out space-borne experiments for the first time in ISRO’s history.
The launch of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) was captured on camera by an Indigo pilot. The launch by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was spotted by Captain Karun Karumbaya 50 nautical miles from the launch site as he was seated in the cockpit of his aircraft.
“Ladies and gentlemen, on the right look outside the window you can see the PSLV launch. It is a rocket taking off,” Karumbaya informed his passengers as he recorded the launch from the aircraft. “Beauty yaar! Wow! That’s amazing,” he can be heard saying in the 44-second clip.
Watch the video here:
PSLV launch as seen by Capt Karun Karumbaya, ex 224 Sqn, from the cockpit of his Indigo A - 320! The aircraft was 50nm from the launch site.
— Manoj Kumar Channan (@manojchannan) April 1, 2019
@ashwinichannan pic.twitter.com/Kbco5u8HTW
