Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh): On Friday, India’s latest rocket, the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), successfully orbited two satellites.
During its third and final test flight, the SSLV-D3 achieved a significant milestone by successfully launching an SR-0 satellite owned by Chennai-based Space Rickshaw and the earth observation satellite-08 (EOS-08), which weighed roughly 175.5 kg, into orbit, marking a successful leap in India’s space technology.
The third development flight of SSLV has been successfully completed, according to Dr. S. Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), who was speaking about the mission. We can now officially announce that SSLV development is finished. SSLV technology is currently being distributed to various industries.
Additionally, Somanath stated that there is no variation from the planned orbit of the satellites.
“The satellite’s (EOS-08) solar panels have been deployed,” Somanath added.
According to S. S. Vinod, Mission Director, a major milestone in SSLV has been achieved.
“The spacecraft (EOS-08) is unique with new technologies. There are 20 new technologies and three new payloads in the satellite,” M. Avinash, Satellite Director, said.
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The ISRO has created the 500 kg SSLV, designed to reach Low Earth Orbit (LEO), in response to business demand for smaller satellites.
The 34-meter-tall, 119-ton disposable rocket, which cost roughly Rs 56 crore, broke free of the initial launch pad at approximately 9:17 a.m. and began its upward, one-way flight.
Gradually, the rocket with a dense orange flame at its tail began to accelerate and ascend.
Regarding the mission’s goals, ISRO said it will finish the SSLV Development Project and allow the public sector and Indian businesses to carry out operational missions through NewSpace India Ltd.
About 13 minutes into its flight, at an altitude of 475 km, the SSLV rocket ejected EOS-08, and about three minutes later, the SR-0 was separated.
For the city-based space sector start-up Space Rickshaw, the SR-0 will be its first satellite.
“We will be making six more satellites on a commercial basis,” Srimathy Kesan, co-founder of Space Rickshaw and founder and CEO of Space Kidz India, told IANS.
According to ISRO, the main goals of the EOS-08 mission are to design and create a microsatellite, build payload sensors that work with the microsatellite bus, and integrate new technologies that will be needed for operational satellites in the future.
EOS-08, which is based on the Microsat/IMS-1 bus, carries three payloads: the SiC UV Dosimeter, the Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry payload (GNSS-R), and the Electro-Optical Infrared Payload (EOIR).
The EOIR payload is made to take pictures in the Mid-Wave (MIR), and Long-Wave (LWIR) bands both during the day and at night for uses like satellite-based surveillance, disaster monitoring, environmental monitoring, fire detection, volcanic activity observation, and industrial and power plant disaster monitoring.
The GNSS-R payload showcases the potential applications of GNSS-R-based remote sensing, including analysis of ocean surface winds, evaluation of soil moisture, cryosphere research across the Himalayan region, flood detection, and identification of inland water bodies.
According to ISRO, the SiC UV Dosimeter acts as a high-dose alert sensor for gamma radiation and tracks UV irradiance at the Crew Module’s viewport during the Gaganyaan Mission.
The Communication, Baseband, Storage, and Positioning (CBSP) Package is an Integrated Avionics system that integrates various operations into a single, efficient unit. According to the Indian Space Agency, EOS-08 represents a substantial development in satellite mainframe systems.
According to ISRO, the satellite employs a miniaturised design in its Antenna Pointing Mechanisms. It can achieve a rotational speed of six degrees per second and maintain a pointing accuracy of ±1 degree.
Ensuring a sustainable future for space exploration
With the new rocket in its portfolio, ISRO will have three rockets: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and its variants (cost about Rs 200 crore), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-MkII, cost about Rs 272 crore and LVM3, Rs 434 crore), and SSLV (Development cost of three rockets about Rs 56 crore each). The production cost may go down later. This cost-effective SSLV rocket is designed to meet the increasing demand for smaller satellite launches in the space industry.
The three-staged SSLV is primarily powered by solid fuel (total 99.2 tons) and also has a velocity trimming module (VTM) powered by 0.05 tons of liquid fuel for precise satellite injection.
The SSLV’s maiden flight, SSLV-D1, on 7.8.2022 was a failure. The rocket put the two satellites—EOS-01 and AZAADISAT—in the wrong orbit, resulting in their loss.
According to ISRO, SSLV-D1’s onboard sensors were affected by vibrations during the separation of its second stage. While the rocket’s software was able to eject the satellites, they were ejected into the wrong orbit. The satellites also lacked the necessary velocity to be in a stable orbit and went into oblivion.
The subsequent developmental flight SSLV-D2 on 10.02.2023 put into orbit an earth observation satellite-07 (EOS-07) weighing about 156.3 kg and two others – 10.2 kg, Janus-1 belonging to ANTARIS of the US and 8.7 kg AzaadiSat-2 belonging to Space Kidz India, Chennai.
– – Venkatachari Jagannathan
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