On April 1st, ISRO will launch an electronic spy, a small satellite called EMISAT and place it in the orbit. A special, and a new version of PSLV will be used for this launch, wherein besides EMISAT, 29 other satellites will be launched, as the same time.
This will be 47th launch via PSLV or Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
EMISAT: India’s Smart Spy In The Space
PSLV-C45 will be used for the first time on April 1st when this powerful launcher will carry EMISAT and 29 other satellites into space, and place them in various orbits.
The highlight of this launch in EMISAT, which is a powerful surveillance satellite, developed by ISTO and DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization).
EMISAT is primarily based on on the famous Israeli spy satellite called SARAL or (Satellite with ARgos and ALtika), and inherits its SSB-2 bus protocol for conducting sharp electronic surveillance across the length and breadth of India.
EMISAT will use SARAL’s special altimeter called AltiKa (Built by CNES, as well as a Doris instrument), which will primarily work in Ka-band, 35 GHz.
The single frequency KA-Band will empower EMISAT to scan through ice, rain, coastal zones, land masses, forests, and wave heights without any hiccups.
First acknowledged in the Ministry of Defence annual report 2013-14, EMISAT took 8 years to develop, and its payload was developed under Project KAUTILYA by Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL), Hyderabad.
Speciality Of PSLV-C45 Launch
Sivan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has confirmed that the launch of 30 satellites via PSLV-C45 launcher is a special one for ISRO.
For the first time ever, a launcher will place satellites in 3 different orbits.
He said, “It is a special mission for us. We will be using a PSLV rocket with four strap-on motors. Further, for the first time we will be trying to orbit the rocket at three different altitudes.”
To start with, PSLC-C45 will place EMISAT into a 749 km orbit (EMISAT weighs 436 kgs).
Later, the remaining 28 satellites will be placed in the 504 kms latitude.
And then finally, the launcher will dip further down to 485 kms orbit, and place three experimental payloads:
- Automatic Identification System (AIS) from ISRO for Maritime satellite applications
- Automatic Packet Repeating System (APRS) from AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation), India
- Advanced Retarding Potential Analyser for Ionospheric Studies (ARIS) from Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST)
PSLV-C45 will launch on April 1st at 9 AM, and the overall flight sequence will take 180 minutes.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in..