The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched EMISAT, India’s latest satellite, from the Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh launch station on the 1st of April at 9.27 A.M.
Considered to be the first of its kind to be launched in India, this satellite was created to provide the Indian Armed Forces with electronic intelligence.
According to the agency, 28 other small satellites were successfully placed by ISRO with the EMISAT. This launch comes six days after the much hyped launch of the anti satellite (ASAT) missile test, a part of the Mission Shakti operation. “I am very happy with achieving a double bullseye in space, first with Mission Shakti a direct hit to kill of a satellite at 300 kilometre altitude and now, with the help of ISRO, India’s EMISAT successfully placed in orbit,” said Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, the chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO.)
Another first for the ISRO, the Space Organisation invited the public to witness the launch of this unique satellite. The countdown for the launch began at 6.27 A.M., on the 31st of March and after 24 hours, the satellite finally took off to thundering applause!
Apart from the new version of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV,) some of the other noteworthy parts of the launch included aspects like the use of the fourth stage as an orbital platform and the switching on and off of the fourth stage engine a few times. Furthermore, another noteworthy feature was the fact the fourth stage carried three experimental payloads.
The 28 satellites were made in Spain, Switzerland, Lithuania and the United States. As a part of the mission, the fourth and last stage of the rocket will be kept alive for a while before being cast off as space junk.
With this new satellite being the 47th PSLV to be launched by the ISRO, the Country stands tall and proud. Looking at the success of these missions, India is also planning to launch two more defence satellites either in July or August this year.
Stay tuned for more updates.
