Isro successfully launched the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 mission aboard the PSLV-C59 rocket, which lifted off from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
In its 61st launch, the PSLV lifted off a little after 4 pm as per a revised schedule, and the satellite was placed in the desired orbit more than 18 minutes thereafter. The mission was initially planned earlier, but was postponed due to a propulsion system glitch in the satellite.
The first acquisition of signal was expected by the flight control team at ESA’s ESEC establishment in Redu, Belgium, around a quarter of an hour after separation.
“On Earth, total solar eclipses only occur every 18 months on an average, and last just for a few minutes. Solar scientists have to travel all over the world to take advantage of them. Proba-3 will be able to create solar eclipses on demand, observing closer to the edge of the Sun than any previous Earthor space-based instrument, down to just 1.1 solar radii. And it will do so for six hours per 19-hour 36-minute orbit,” said ESA. The latest member of ESA’s family of in-orbit demonstration missions, Proba-3, is, in fact, two spacecraft launched together in a dedicated commercial mission implemented by space PSU New Space India Limited (NSIL).
NSIL CMD Radhakrishnan D said: “We’re delighted to have successfully accomplished the dedicated launch for ESA. This is the first time ever that the PSLV has placed a satellite in such a highly elliptical orbit with an apogee of nearly 60,500 km. PSLV has again demonstrated its reliability and versatility in undertaking customer satellite missions in varied orbits.”
