ISRO gears up for commercial launch exclusively for foreign Satellites on Sep 16

Bengaluru, Sep 11: After a eight-month lull, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be launching two United Kingdom satellites in a full-fledged commercial launch on 16 September, The Times of India has reported.

ISRO gears up for satellite launch

ISRO's launch vehicle PSLV will launch two foreign satellites NovaSAR-1 and SSTL S1-4 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C42 mission, which will carry UK satellites--Novasar and S1-4 are developed by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd which has signed an agreement with ISRO's commercial Antrix Corporation for the launch of the two satellites. This will completely be a commercial launch. These satellites are meant for earth observation.

The SSTL S1-4, a sub-one-metre resolution Earth observation satellite with a mass of 440kg, will further enhance Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd's in-orbit observation capabilities.

About the two foreign satellites NovaSAR-1, SSTL S1-4

According to Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, NovaSAR-1 is a technology demonstration satellite mission designed to test the capabilities of a new low-cost S-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) platform and will be launched into the 580-km sun-synchronous orbit.

This isn't the first time

India has so far launched 237 satellites for 28 different countries as of January, 2018. The first full-fledged commercial launch was completed by ISRO in 2007. ISRO's commercial operations achieved another milestone in 2015 when it launched five UK satellites which weighed 1,439 kg in total.

Commercial launches are negotiated through Antrix

Commercial launches for foreign nations are negotiated through Antrix, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The first full-fledged commercial launch was completed by ISRO in 2007.

November will witness two more launches

GSLV F11 will launch a satellite named Gsat-7A, which will be dedicated to the Indian Air Force and help them in interlinking their bases and ground radar stations. On November 30, 5.6 tonne Gsat-11 will be launched from Frech Guiana. It is said to be the heaviest satellite which was recently called back for rechecks.