India’s radar imaging satellite launch countdown begins

Team L&M

The countdown for the first space mission for ISRO from India in 2020 took off at 1:02 pm November 6. Carrying the country’s radar imaging satellite and nine other foreign satellites, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C49 (PSLV-C49), is scheduled to lift-off from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh at 3.02 pm on November 7, stated the Indian space agency, ISRO.
India’s telecommunication satellite 3,357 kg GSAT-30 – a replacement for INSAT-4A – was successfully launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) from Kourou launch base in French Guyana by an Ariane rocket on January 17, 2020.

Indian radar imaging satellite EOS-01 (formerly RISAT-2BR2) with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that can shoot pictures in all weather conditions will be the primary passenger of the 44.5 metre tall PSLV-C49. The satellite can take pictures day and night and will be useful for surveillance as well as civilian activities.
The nine foreign satellites that would piggyback are from: Lithuania (1-technology demonstrator), Luxembourg (4 maritime application satellites by Kleos Space) and the US (4-Lemur multi mission remote sensing satellites). The PSLV is a four stage/engine rocket powered by solid and liquid fuels alternatively with six booster motors strapped on to the first stage to give higher thrust during the initial flight moments.
Other Indian satellites ready for launch are GISAT, Microsat-2A and GSAT-12R.