A new leap into space
In its 10th flight conducted from Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota on January 10, 2007, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)'s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C7 successfully launched four satellites - India's CARTOSAT-2, Space capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1), Indonesia's LAPAN-TUBSAT and Argentina's PEHUENSAT-1, into a 635-kilometer-high polar orbit.
For the first time, PSLV used a Dual Launch Adopter (DLA) to accommodate two primary satellites in tandem. This is yet another leap for India's space technology.
The four satellites have been placed in a polar orbit at an altitude of 637 kilometers with an inclination of 97.9 degrees with respect to the equator.
PSLV is the workhorse launch vehicle of the ISRO, with nine consecutive successful flights so far.
Since its first successful launch in 1994, PSLV has launched seven Indian remote sensing satellites, an amateur radio satellite, HAMSAT, and four small satellites for foreign customers into 550-800 kilometer polar SSOs. In addition, it has launched India's exclusive meteorological satellite, Kalpana-1, into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).
PSLV will be used to launch India's first spacecraft mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1, next year.
The 44-meter-tall PSLV has a lift-off mass of 295 tons. It is a four-stage launch vehicle, with the first and third stages as well as the six strap-ons surrounding the first stage using HTPB-based solid propellant. Its bulbous payload fairing has a diameter of 3.2 meters. PSLV's first stage is one of the largest solid propellant boosters in the world. Its second and fourth stages use liquid propellants.
The vehicle has S-band telemetry and C-band transponder systems for monitoring its health and flight status. It also has sophisticated auxiliary systems like stage and payload fairing separation systems.
PSLV was originally designed to put the 1,000-kilogram class of India's remote sensing satellites into a 900-kilometer polar SSO.
Its payload capability has been successively enhanced in PSLV-C7. It launched four payloads, in all weighing 1,292 kilograms, in addition to the DLA.
(China Daily 01/26/2007 page17)
