The Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) will launch three passenger satellites on Thursday in a critical mission. At 6:00 p.m., the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota’s Second Launch Pad.
On Wednesday, over 25 hours before the flight, the countdown for the mission started, signaling a functioning system and a launch vehicle on the launch pad. Three satellites from Singapore will be launched by NewSpace India Limited aboard the spacecraft when it lifts off (NSIL).
The mission is being launched by NSIL, a business division of the Department of Space (DOS), following a contract with Singapore. This is the organization’s second commercial mission.
The spaceship will launch the three missions into Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is 570 kilometers above the equator. This PSLV mission is the 15th to use the PSLV-Core Alone version and the 55th overall. This launch marks the sixteenth PSLV launch from pad two.
The PSLV is launching three satellites in its launch fairing, including the DS-EO satellite and the NeuSAR, Singapore’s first tiny commercial satellite with a SAR payload that can take pictures day and night and in all kinds of weather.
According to Isro, NeuSAR weighs 155 kg, whereas DS-EO weighs 365 kg. Although both spacecraft are Singaporean, Starec Initiative constructed them in the Republic of Korea. The third satellite, a 2.8 kg Scoob-1 of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.
The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM), which will conduct in-orbit scientific experiments utilizing the expended PS4 stage as an orbital platform, is a significant experiment planned for the spacecraft. The PS4 stage would circle the planet for the first time as a stable platform.
After deployment, it will use a particular NGC system to stabilize the stage. The system will be powered by a Li-Ion battery and solar panels fitted around the PS4 tank. It will use four sun sensors, a magnetometer, gyros, and NavIC to navigate. It is equipped with specialized control thrusters that store Helium gas. With the telecommand functionality, it is functional.
In addition to two payloads from Indian space startups M/s Digantara and M/s Dhruva Space, POEM contains six shipments, according to Isro.
After the satellites have been separated, the mission aims to show how to use the launch vehicle’s discarded upper stage as a stable platform for research payloads.
