Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

ISRO to Launch Small Rocket SSLV

August 6, 2022
Satellite_isro

After achieving a number of milestones, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to add another feather in its cap with the launch of its new rocket Small Satellite Launch Vehicle – Developmental Flight 1 (SSLV-D1).

According to ISRO, the countdown down for the SSLV-D1 launch will begin about six-and-half-hours before the lift off which is scheduled at 9.18 a.m. on Sunday. It would be another gift to the country from ISRO which is hoping to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the country’s Independence with this launch from the First Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

ISRO developed a small satellite launch vehicle (SSLV) to cater the launch of up to 500 kg satellites to Low Earth Orbits on ‘launch-on-demand’ basis.

SSLV-D1 mission would launch EOS-02, a 135 kg Satellite, into low earth orbit of about 350 km to the equator, at an inclination of about 37 degrees. The mission also carries AzaadiSAT satellite, ISRO said.

SSLV is configured with three solid stages 87 t, 7.7 t and 4.5 t. The satellite insertion into the intended orbit is achieved through a liquid propulsion-based velocity trimming module.

SSLV is capable of launching Mini, Micro, or Nanosatellites (10 to 500 kg mass) to a 500 km planar orbit. SSLV provides low-cost access to Space on demand basis. It offers low turn-around time, flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, launch-on-demand feasibility, minimal launch infrastructure requirements, etc. SSLV-D1 is a 34 m tall, 2 m diameter vehicle having a lift-off mass of 120 t.

EOS-02 is an earth observation satellite designed and realised by ISRO. This microsat series satellite offers advanced optical remote sensing operating in infra-red band with high spatial resolution. The bus configuration is derived from IMS-1 bus.

AzaadiSAT is a 8U Cubesat weighing around 8 kg. It carries 75 different payloads each weighing around 50 grams and conducting femto-experiments.

Girl students from rural regions across the country were provided guidance to build these payloads. The payloads are integrated by the student team of “Space Kidz India”, ISRO said.

The payloads include a UHF-VHF Transponder working in ham radio frequency to enable voice and data transmission for amateur radio operators, a solid state PIN diode-based Radiation counter to measure the ionising radiation in its orbit, a long-range transponder and a selfie camera. The ground system developed by ‘Space Kidz India’ will be utilised for receiving the data from this satellite.

Girja Shankar Kaura

The writer is a Delhi-based freelance journalist, who has reported and written on a wide range of subjects in an extensive career.