The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Sunday accomplished the lift-off of PSLV-C56/DS-SAR, a dedicated commercial mission, with all the seven satellites launched “precisely into their intended orbits”. The primary satellite – the 360-kg DS-SAR – and six co-passenger customer satellites, all belonging to Singapore, were launched into a Near Equatorial Orbit, from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, at 6.30 am.
The mission was facilitated by Isro’s commercial arm NewSpace India Limited, for ST Engineering, Singapore. DS-SAR is developed as part of a partnership between the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) under the Government of Singapore and ST Engineering.
DS-SAR carries a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload developed by Israel Aerospace Industries.
It is designed to support the satellite imagery requirements of agencies functioning under the Government of Singapore. Isro said ST Engineering would use the satellite for multi-modal and higher responsiveness imagery and geospatial services for their commercial customers. DS-SAR can provide all-weather, day-and-night coverage and is capable of imaging at 1m-resolution at full polarimetry, the space agency said.
The six co-passenger satellites, including three nanosatellites that weigh less than 10 kg, are – VELOX-AM which will demonstrate additive manufacturing capabilities, ARCADE (Atmospheric Coupling and Dynamics Explorer), an experimental satellite, SCOOB-II which is flying a technology demonstrator payload, NuLIoN, designed to enable seamless IoT connectivity, Galassia-2 which will use commercial off-the-shelf capabilities in multispectral imagery for space applications, and ORB-12 STRIDER which will demonstrate next-generation propulsion systems for small satellite constellations.
Sunday’s launch was the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launching Vehicle)’s 58th flight and the 17th in its core-alone configuration.
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