PSLV-C9 successfully places 10 satellites into orbit   Sriharikota, Apr 28 (PTI) Setting a record, India's  Polar rocket today successfully placed ten satellites, including the country's remote sensing satellite, into orbit in a single mission. The ten pack launch of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) saw the 230-tonne Polar Satellite launch Vehicle (PSLV-C9) carry the heaviest luggage--824 kgs--and put into orbit an Indian Mini Satellite and eight foreign nano satellites besides the Cartosat-2A remote sensing satellite.   At the end of the 52-hour countdown, the PSLV-C9, with a lift-off mass of 230 tonne, blasted off from the launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre and soared    into the clear sky in a textbook launch at 9:23 am. Fourteen minutes after lift off, the fourth stage of the ISRO's workhorse launch vehicle, in its 13th flight, injected the ten satellites, into the 635 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). This  is for the first time that ISRO has put ten satellites in orbit in a single launch. This is also PSLV's twelfth successful flight.   A Russian rocket last year delivered 16 satellites in the outer space but the Russian launch vehicle carried a lesser payload of only around 300 kg.    Besides the 690 kg Indian remote sensing satellite CARTOSAT- 2A and the 83 kg Indian Mini Satellite (IMS-1), the rest eight Nano Satellites were from abroad. This is the third time, the PSLV has been launched in the core alone version, without the six solid propellant first stage strap-on motors.

India’s largest rocket GSLV-F04, with satellite INSAT-4CR  Sriharikota, September 2, 2007:  India’s largest rocket GSLV-F04, carrying communication satellite INSAT-4CR, was launched successfully at 6.20 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) here today. The 2,130-kg INSAT-4CR was placed in the geosynchronous transfer orbit  (GTO) at an altitude of 248 km around 17 minutes after the liftoff. The launch, scheduled for 4.21 pm, was halted only 15 seconds before the liftoff after the computer detected a technical snag. The launch was first delayed by 50 minutes but it stretched over to two hours. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Madhavan Nair said: “I heartily congratulate my colleagues for the successful launch of GSLV-F04.”  The successful launch of GSLV-F04, which carries INSAT-4CR satellite with 12 high-power KU-band transponders, will revolutionise television industry in the country.   The transponders are for direct-to-home (DTH) television services, video transmission, digital satellite news gathering and will cater to other high-bit rate data transmissions with a footprint covering the Indian mainland. Scientists here eagerly awaited the launch of the fifth flight of India’s GSLV series as the previous launch in July last year was aborted midway after it veered off path due to sudden loss of thrust in one of the four liquid propellant strap-on stages.   Tension mounted as the launch was halted and delayed for two hours. However, there was jubilation among scientists who watched the rocket go into the space on the right trajectory. This is the first INSAT 4 series satellite to be launched from India, with the previous two - INSAT 4A and INSAT 4B - being launched on board the European Ariane launch vehicle.

The 49 metre, 414 tonne GSLV-FO4 is a three-stage vehicle comprising two liquid propellant stages and a final cryogenic stage that puts the satellite in its geosynchronous transfer orbit. The satellite will be manoeuvered to its 36,000 km-high geosynchronous orbit (GSO) by firing liquid apogee Motor (LAM) on board of the satellite in the subsequent days. It will have a mission life of 11 years.    This successful launch will provide a fillip to the DTH service providers, who suffered a setback on their rollout of services as planned due to the failure in the previous attempt. Many television service providers in the country had to postpone their foray into the DTH sector because of the earlier failure.   To avoid the fate of FO2 last year, a failure analysis committee was constituted and former SDSC director K. Narayana was appointed its head. The committee had suggested recommendations to implement strict control on all fabrication, inspection and acceptance, which was implemented by the ISRO. Today’s launch of GSLV-F04, carrying 18th satellite in the INSAT series, was delayed by a day due to poor weather conditions here.

With this, India now has 212 transponders in the sky. While the cost of the vehicle was Rs 160 crore, the satellite cost Rs 150 crore.

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