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PSLV-C51/Amazonia-1 Mission

Posted on March 1, 2021 by admin1  758

In News

  • India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C51 successfully launched Amazonia-1 along with 18 co-passenger satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
  • PSLV-C51 is the 53rd flight of PSLV and the 3rd flight of PSLV in ‘DL’ configuration (with 2 strap-on motors).
  • It was also the first dedicated mission for New Space India Ltd (NSIL), the commercial arm of ISRO.

 

About

Amazonia-1

    • It is a 637-kg optical earth observation satellite of the National Institute for Space Research.
    • It is powered by lithium-ion batteries and two solar arrays. It has an 850km swath and 60m resolution.
    • Purpose: It will offer remote sensing data to users for monitoring deforestation in the Amazon region of Brazil including the analysis of diversified agriculture in the South American country.
    • Significance: It is the first dedicated commercial mission of New Space India Limited (NSIL), a Government of India company under the Department of Space.
      • It became the first Brazilian satellite to be launched from India.
  • The 18 co-passenger satellites onboard PSLV-C51 includes
    • US
      • Out of the 13 satellites from the U.S., one was a technology demonstration satellite and the remaining for 2-way communications and data relay.
    • From India
      • Five satellites belong to India including the Satish Dhawan SAT (SDSAT) built by Space Kidz India, a nano-satellite intended to study the radiation levels, space weather and demonstrate long-range communication technologies, and the UNITYsat, a combination of three satellites intended for providing radio relay services.
  • The UNITYsat was designed and built as a joint development by the Jeppiar Institute of Technology, Sriperumbudur, G.H. Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur and Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore
  • Relevance for india:This particular mission is special because these five Indian satellites are coming under the new space reform announced by the Government of India.

About Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

 

  • It is the third generation launch vehicle of India.
  • It is the first Indian launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages.
  • After its first successful launch in October 1994, PSLV emerged as the reliable and versatile workhorse launch vehicle of India with 39 consecutively successful missions by June 2017.
  • The vehicle successfully launched two spacecraft – Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in 2013 – that later travelled to Moon and Mars respectively.
  • Difference: PSLV was developed to launch low-Earth Orbit satellites into polar and sun synchronous orbits whereas GSLV was developed to launch the heavier INSAT class of geosynchronous satellites into orbit.

Source: IE

 
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