In its first mission of 2020, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on November 7, 2020 has launched its latest earth observation satellite EOS-01 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) or Sriharikota Range (SHAR), Andhra Pradesh (AP) along with 9 international customer satellites fromLithuania (1), Luxembourg (4), and the US (4). These were carried off by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C49.
- It should be noted that this was PSLVs 51st mission, 76th launch mission from SDSC SHAR, and 110th Spacecraft mission of ISRO.
About EOS-01:
EOS-01 is a part of ISRO’s RISAT (Radar Imaging Satellite) series of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites and originally named RISAT-2BR2 but was changed to EOS-1 as per new naming criteria. With an approx. weight of 628-kilogram, EOS-01 is intended for applications in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support with all-weather and day-and-night observation capability.
About International Customer Satellite:
The customer satellites were launched under a commercial agreement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), Department of Space, Government of India. The satellites launched are as follows:
Lithuania– R2
- It is a technology demonstrator.
Luxembourg– 4 Kleos or Scouting Mission satellites (KSM1)
- These are for maritime applications from Kleos Space of Luxembourg, a company providing commercial reconnaissance data. These satellites are intended to detect and geolocate maritime radio frequency transmissions.
United States of America (USA)– 4 Lemur satellites
- These are multi-mission remote sensing small satellites for American company Spire.
- Spire provides weather, ship-tracking and aircraft-tracking information from space. Previously also it used PSLV to get its Lemur satellites into orbit.
Future missions of ISRO:
There will be PSLV-C50 to launch satellite CMS-01, followed by the new vehicle SSLV – the first development flight – to launch the EOS – 02 and the GSLV-F10 launch of EOS – 03.
- There will also be the launch of GSAT (Geostationary Satellite)-12R communication satellite into geostationary transfer orbit in December, 2020. ISRO will use the PSLV-XL which features larger strap-on boosters for this mission.
Recent Related News:
i.Under the ongoing collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and ISRO, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite is scheduled to be launched by 2022.
ii.ISRO is all set to launch its first Venus mission “Shukrayaan-1” in 2025 with participation of French space agency CNES (National Centre for Space Studies; French: Centre national d’etudes spatiales) .
About Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO):
Establishment– 1969
Chairman– Dr. K Sivan
Headquarter– Bengaluru, Karnataka
About NewSpace India Limited (NSIL):
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)– G Narayanan
Headquarter– Bengaluru, Karnataka
