More Foreign Satellites to Launch on India’s Rockets
NEW DELHI, April 30, 2007 - Satnews Daily - India’s recent first success in launching its first foreign commercial satellite—Italy’s Agile research satellite—will be followed up by two missions for Israel, two for India and one for Canada.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) confirms the launch this August of the Israeli Polaris observation satellite on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). PSLV is a four-stage vehicle that is 44 meters tall and weighs 295 tonnes.
An Israeli ultra-violet astronomy telescope will take to space aboard the heavy lift GSLV (Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) in 2008. The Israeli ultra-violet astronomy telescope is called Tauvex (Tel Aviv University Ultra-violet Experiment.) The GSLV launch will also have as a passenger the Indian GSAT-4 satellite.
Later this year India will launch a cluster of six micro-satellites from Canada along with its own Cartosat-2A. Together, these six micro-satellites will weigh only 26 kg. Cartosat-2A will be used for to mapping India.
Last week, India entered the highly competitive commercial satellite launch market with its first success: the launch of Italy’s Agile (Astro-rivelatore Gamma a Immagini LEggero) advanced gamma ray observation satellite for the Italian Space Agency (ASI).
A PSLV took the 352kg Agile into orbit following launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota on India's eastern coast. The PSLV flew without the six standard solid rocket boosters attached to the base of the launcher, a first for PSLV. The launch was the 11th for PSLV since it debuted in 1993.
The mission was also the first commercial launch conducted by India's space program. Earlier PSLV missions launched small foreign satellites, but Agile was the first time a paying customer's satellite became the primary payload.
