Monday,
June 30, 2014 is an historic day for India's space capability. At
09:52 AM, ISRO successfully launched PSLV-C23 from the First Launch
Pad in Satish Dhawan Space Centre at the spaceport of Sriharikota (a
barrier island of the Bay of Bengal coast in Andhra Pradesh) in
presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After a perfect launch,
PSLV-C23 placed all the five foreign satellites in their orbit during 17th
to 19th minute with a unimaginable precision.
The
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C23 carried five satellites from
four different countries France, Germany, Canada and Singapore and
had a total payload of 765 kg. The French Earth Observation Satellite
SPOT-7 was its main payload weighing 714 kg, AISAT of Germany
weighed 14 kg, NLS7.1 (CAN-X4) and NLS7.2 (CAN-X5) of Canada weighed
15 kg each, while VELOX-1 of Singapore weighed only 7 kg.
The
presence of the Prime Minister thrilled the scientists and filled
them with enthusiasm. The PM congratulated the scientists for a
successful launch and said that it was a global endorsement of
India's space capability. He urged Indian space scientists to develop
a satellite for SAARC nations make the Indian Navigation System
functional by 2015. He said ISRO to focus on developing capabilities
to launch heavier satellites.
This
was a commercial launch to respect the contract that ISRO's
commercial subdivision ANTRIX entered into with respective foreign
agencies. According to Madhvan Nair (former ISRO chairman) PSLV-C23
launch has proven to be one of world’s most reliable space launch
vehicle. ISRO has successfully launched 35 satellites from 19
countries.
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