ISRO to launch two foreign satellites on Sunday

Isro's reliable workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PLSV) will launch two foreign satellites together weighing around 900 kg from its launchpad in Sriharikota on Sunday.

This will be Isro's full-fledged commercial launch, though the agency had launched private satellites from its launch pad in Sriharikota. The satellites -- NovaSAR and S1-4 - will be launched from the first launch pad of Sriharikota at 10 pm on Sunday, Isro officials said.

"This mission is designed to launch two earth observation satellites, NovaSAR and S1-4 (together weighing nearly 889 kg) of M/s Surrey Satellite Technologies Limited (SSTL), United Kingdom under commercial arrangement with Antrix Corporation Limited, Department of Space. Both satellites are planned to be launched into a 583 km Sun Synchronous Orbit," the Isro said.

NovaSAR is a S-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite intended for forest mapping, land use & ice cover monitoring, flood & disaster monitoring, while S1-4 is a high-resolution Optical Earth Observation Satellite, used for surveying resources, environment monitoring, urban management and for the disaster monitoring. PSLV, known as ISRO's workhorse, is one of the reliable launch vehicles of the space agency since its launch in the 1990s.

The launch of the two satellite comes after the ISRO's March launch of GSAT-6A Satellite into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) failed.