ISRO’s First Launch of 2022 kicks off with PSLV-C52-EOS-04, two other co-passengers hitching a ride

At 5:59 am, on the morning of 14th February, the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-04) onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C52) was successfully accomplished and launched by the Indian Space & Research Organisation (ISRO). Apart from EOS, the launch vehicle also carried two other rideshare satellites into orbit and this marked the first successful launch of the year 2022, hence, setting the Indian space agency in motion for the work ahead in this year.

The first launch was conducted from the First Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The PSLV is a third-generation launch vehicle designed indigenously that can take up to 1,750 kg of payload to Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbits of 600 km altitude. Today, in the wee hours of the morning, India’s PSLV C-52 injected Earth Observation Satellite EOS-04 in the Sun-Synchronous Orbit of 529 kilometers altitude above the planet.

Step by Step into the Launch:

At 5:59 hours IST, PSLV lifted off from the launch pad. This was the 80th launch vehicle mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota; 54th flight of PSLV

EOS-04 satellite realised at U R Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru. 
The four-stage rocket lifted off with a student satellite INSPIRESat and a spacecraft dubbed INSAT-2DT that is a precursor of a joint India-Bhutan mission in the future.
 

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The Mission Control Room roared in applause and amid cheers, and the launch director announced that all three satellites were successfully deployed. Following the launch, ISRO chairman S Somnath said, “The mission of PSLV-C52 has been successfully accomplished.”

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C52 injected Earth Observation Satellite EOS-04, into an intended sun synchronous polar orbit of 529 km altitude at 06:17 hours IST on February 14, 2022 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharikota: @isro pic.twitter.com/ENDcwzJkEv

— Prasar Bharati News Services पी.बी.एन.एस. (@PBNS_India) February 14, 2022

EOS-04: 

In total, ISRO has deployed Earth Observation Satellite-04, also dubbed as Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT). This satellite has been designed to provide high-quality images under all weather conditions and situations to be applicable for sectors like agriculture, forestry and plantations, flood mapping, soil moisture & hydrology. It is pertinent to mention that the spacecraft is aimed to collect observation data in C-Band completing the observations done by Resourcesat, Cartosat and RISAT-2B series. Also, the satellite has an operating life of a decade.

INSAT-2TD

Another satellite hitching a ride onboard PSLV-C52 include INSAT-2TD. This is a technology demonstrator satellite, a precursor to the India-Bhutan Joint Satellite (INS-2B). What does this satellite have? It carries a thermal imaging camera that will aid in the assessment of land, water surface temperatures, delineation of vegetation and thermal inertia. The satellite, which weighs 17.5 kgs has an operating life of just six months.

INSPIREsat

The final payload is a student satellite also known as INSPIREsat-1 which weighs 8.1 kgs and has been developed by the Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology in collaboration with the Laboratory of Atmospheric & Space Physics at the University of Colorado. The satellite is designed to improve our understanding of ionosphere dynamics – the layer of the earth’s atmosphere between about 80 & 1,000 kilometres above the surface of the Earth. It will also create a better understanding of the sun’s coronal heating process. The satellite’s operational lifetime is set for a year.

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