Capping a year of successful launches, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch PSLV-C36 carrying remote sensing satellite RESOURCESAT-2A from the spaceport of Sriharikota on December 7, the space agency said and as reported by The New Indian Express online infosite.
The RESOURCESAT-2A satellite in the clean room during integration.
Photo is courtesy of ISRO.
The 44.4 meter tall PSLV C36 is expected to place the 1,235 kg RESOURCESAT-2A into an 827 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) about 18 minutes after lift off. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C36, in its 38th flight, will blast off at 10.24 a.m. from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, the ISRO stated on their website. The mission life of the satellite is five years. RESOURCESAT-2A is a remote sensing satellite developed by ISRO and succeeds RESOURCESAT-1 and RESOURCESAT-2 launched in 2003 and 2011, respectively.
The satellite is intended to continue the remote sensing data services to global users and would carry similar payloads as carried by RESOURCESAT-1 & RESOURCESAT-2. RESOURCESAT-2A will carry a high-resolution Linear Imaging Self Scanner camera, medium resolution LISS-3 camera and an advanced wide field sensor camera that operates in various bands as well as two solid state recorders with a capacity of 200 GB to store the images taken by the cameras, which can then be shared with ground stations.
The PSLV has launched satellites in various orbits including SSO, LEO, geosynchronous transfer orbit and sub-GTO, registering 36 successful launches as of this writing. Between 1994 and 2016, PSLV had successfully launched 121 satellites, of which 79 are from overseas, the rest being Indian satellites, the ISRO said.