Desi Cartman Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 BANGALORE/MUMBAI: The stage is set for the launch on Wednesday of the Indian Space Research Organisation's workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for placing into orbit the country's 16th remote sensing satellite, Oceansat-2, and six European nano satellites. ( Watch Video ) "The countdown is progressing well. The launch window is between 11.51 am and 12.06 pm. The weather forecast is clear," ISRO spokesman S Satish said from the Sriharikota rocket launch centre around 80 km from here. "We don't expect any last minute thrills or tension," he added. Seven satellites in 1,200 seconds. A launch similar to the one in April 2008 when ISRO launched 10 satellites. The final 51-hour countdown began on Monday at 9am. Of the six nano satellites, four are from Germany, one is from Switzerland and one from Turkey. The seventh is a big one, India's Oceansat-2 weighing 960 kg. From the time of launch to ejection of satellites, time taken will be around 1,200 seconds. While Oceansat-2 is set to be ejected after 1,055 seconds, four nano satellites will be ejected in the next 45 seconds. Two others are meant to stay with the fourth stage of the rocket which will be on its own once the different stages of the rocket get separated. The sequence of ejection is very similar to the April 2008 launch featuring one big satellite - Cartosat-2A and nine other nano satellites - 10 in all: once the PSLV takes off and reaches a certain height and velocity, it will first launch the Oceansat-2 and a few seconds later, the first of four nano satellites. Every 10-12 seconds, the PSLV will launch four satellites one after the other. (Two will remain with the fourth stage). "The rocket re-orients itself everytime a satellite is to be placed in orbit. The re-orientation ensures one satellite doesn't collide with another. The rocket effectively re-orients itself four to five times in the space of one flight," a scientist explained. The brain of the rocket would have made all calculations in advance - from ejection of first satellite to the fifth. The exact moment of ejection and then re-orientation for the next ejection is worked out in advance. All mathematical calculations on the ground, launch sequence and flight path have to work to zero error. "There is no room for error. The rocket has to be in flight till the last minute which means all systems on board have to function to perfection. Once the first and second stages separate, and the fourth stage (the engines) stop, the ejection process begins until every satellite circulates in orbit," an official said. Oceansat-2, India's second satellite to study oceans as well as interaction of oceans and atmosphere, is the 16th remote sensing satellite of India. It is in the shape of a cuboid with two solar panels projecting from its sides. The satellite will map fishing zones around India, measure ocean surface windspeeds as well as atmospheric temperature and humidity. This will be PSLV's 16th mission. From September 1993 to April 2009, PSLV has been launched 15 times. Fourteen launches have been successful continuously while only one has failed so far. ISRO spokesperson S Satish told TOI: "It is known that PSLV has been a very successful launch vehicle. Countries realise it is a vehicle or rocket very well suited for launch of nano satellites. We were on to our 16th mission with PSLV and Germany and Swtizerland were looking for a mission. Our needs coincided and that's how we have the six nano satellites." In the April 2008 launch, eight nano satellites were built by universities and research institutions in Canada and Germany. link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desi Cartman Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 Launch successful :yay: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamy Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 :isalute: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabu Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 :two_thumbs_up::two_thumbs_up: by the way, is there any sat Launch from Pakistan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desi Cartman Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 :two_thumbs_up::two_thumbs_up: by the way' date=' is there any sat Launch from Pakistan[/quote'] yes ... they launch few everyday but the rest of the world calls it ROCKET Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomainK Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 yes ... they launch few everyday but the rest of the world calls it ROCKET :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhr123 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 yes ... they launch few everyday but the rest of the world calls it ROCKET :hysterical::hysterical:lolll... Quote of the mnth. Btw jokes apart.. its due BCCI policy they are unable to do it. BCCI sucks.:winky: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Not much to get excited about, to be honest. These are small satellites that quite frankly are a doddle to put in the space. ISRO is very good at these. The real challenge comes when they have to launch the multi-tonne communication satellites that have those heavy transponders using the big-boy GSLV. As an aside, the Doordarshan commentators for these satellite launches are so hideously pathetic. I cant imagine how anyone make an event as exciting as a rocket launch sound that boring. P.S; In the last 3 months, I lost two opportunities to see something as rare as a shuttle launch. The Cape Canaveral launch site is only 80 miles from where I live. Unfortunately, the weather was playing up so much that on both occasions, the launch got postponed multiple times and we decided not to go. :(( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViruRulez Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 As per news reports there was a new achievement as 6 of them were launched within a period of just 20 minutes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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