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We have done it well, the mission is a great success," these were the words of G Madhavan Nair, chairman, ISRO immediately after the successful launch of its 11th Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7). The successful launch was indeed a defining moment in the Indian space program, and what makes it more significant is that the PSLV C-7 carried four satellites not just one. The four satellite that were put into orbit are India's CARTOSAT-2 and the first ever Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1). The other two foreign satellites are Indonesia's LAPAN-TUBSAT and Argentina's PEHUENSAT-1. Also, for the first time, a Dual Launch Adopter (DLA) was used in PSLV to accommodate two primary satellites in tandem.

The PSLV launch firmly puts India on the space research map and its capabilities to successfully launch multiple satellites. Developing countries will rely on India for launching their own satellites.

Satellites up Close
If we take a closer look at the satellites launched in an Indian context, from a developmental side, CARTOSAT-2 assumes significance for many reasons. This is 12th Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite series that can produce high clarity scene specific spot imagery. CARTOSAT-2 will network other six IRS satellites that are already in service. A unique thing about CARTOSAT-2 is that it carries a panchromatic camera to provide imageries with a spatial resolution of better than one meter and a swath of 9.6 km. The data from the satellite will be used for cartographic applications at cadastral level, urban and rural infrastructure development and management, as well as applications in Land Information System (LIS) and Geographical Information System (GIS).

The CARTOSAT-2 has already started beaming images back to earth and the first imagery covered a length of about 240 km from Paonta Sahib in Shivalik region to Delhi. Another set of imagery of about 50 km length covered Radha Nagari to Sagoan in Goa before the satellite passed over the Arabian Sea. These images were received by the National Remote Sensing Agency's data reception station near Hyderabad.

The SRE-1, according to ISRO sources, is functioning well. Micro-gravity experiments relating to metallurgy and biometric synthesis would be conducted through SRE-1. The SRE-1 is a 550 kg capsule aimed at conducting experiments in micro gravity conditions. The findings of these experiments will give valuable insights in fields like navigation, guidance and control during the re-entry phase, hypersonic aero-thermodynamics facilitating the development of reusable thermal protection system (TPS), recovery through deceleration and floatation besides acquisition of basic technology for reusable launch vehicles.

The other two satellites LAPAN-TUBSAT and PEHUENSAT were launched under commercial agreements. While LAPAN-TUBSAT is an earth observation satellite, PEHUENSAT is an Argentinean nano-satellite aimed at educational, technological and scientific fields. The PSLV-C7 unfolds a new premise in India's space program, as it is for the first time ISRO has launched four satellites in one go and placed it into diverse orbits.

Shrikanth G
shrikanthg@cybermedia.co.in