By P. Vijian, Bernama,
New Delhi : India’s space scientists are preparing to launch a cluster of 10 satellites in one go on board a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C9 (PSLV-C9) Monday.
India’s national space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will fire the 690-kg CARTOSAT-2A, India’s latest remote sensing satellite, into orbit.
Along with it, the Indian Mini Satellite (IMS-1) and eight foreign nano-satellites would be launched. These mini-satellites weigh between three kg and 16 kg and have a total weight of about 50 kg, said an ISRO statement.
The CARTOSAT-2A, with the state-of-the-art panchromatic camera, is capable of taking black-and-white pictures in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
“The CARTOSAT-2A will help in the mapping and management of natural resources and cartographic applications. In 2007, we launched the CARTOSAT-2 and now we are adding the CARTOSAT-2A for continuity of data supply. It is a very important mission for us,” ISRO’s Director of Publications and Public Relations S. Sathish told Bernama.
It would be India’s 13th PSLV-C9 launch and is slated for Monday at 0920 hours from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre — ISRO’s launchpad in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The eight nano-satellites, built by universities and research institutions in Canada and Germany, would be launched under a commercial agreement with Antrix Corporation, ISRO’s marketing agency.
Sathish said the data from the IMS-1, developed by Indian scientists, would be made available for the South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (SAARC) member countries and data from the CARTOSAT-2 would be available under a commercial agreement.
“The IMS-1 data will be available for the countries in this region to help future growth of space technology,” he added.
The entire mission is estimated to cost about RM2 billion.