ISRO successfully launches 6 Singapore Satellites onboard PSLV-C29

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully placed six commercial satellites from Singapore in their dedicated orbits.
These satellites were launched using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C29) from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
This successful launch coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Singapore in year 2015.
Key facts

• The PSLV-C29 was launched in the core-alone version. The total lift-off mass was of 227.6 tonne that included 600 kg payload weight.
• It was overall PSLV’s 32nd space flight and the 31st consecutively successful one.
• The major payload was TeLEOS-One remote sensing satellite weighing 400 kg. It would be used for urban planning and disaster monitoring of Singapore.
• The other five satellites included two micro satellites and one nano satellite. These satellites are VELOX-CI (123 kg), VELOX-II (13 kg) 6U-Cubesat technology demonstrator, Athenoxat-1, Kent Ridge-1 (78 kg) and Galassia (3.4 kg) 2U-Cubesat.
• All of these satellites were successfully launched into a 550 km circular orbit inclined at 15⁰ to the equator.

So far Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of ISRO has successfully launched more than 55 foreign satellites of 20 countries into space. Some of its customer countries are US, UK, Japan, Germany, Switzerland and South Korea.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2015