The first Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) was successfully launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Sunday, carrying an earth observation satellite and a student satellite from the Sriharikota spaceport. Small satellite launch vehicle (SSLV) will be used for the first time by ISRO to launch satellites into low Earth orbit.
To fulfil the demand for these small satellites, which weigh up to 500 kg and can be put into the 500 km low earth orbit, scientists at the ISRO have been working on building small launch vehicles over the previous few weeks.
Features of SSLV
The SSLV has a vehicle diameter of two metres as opposed to the PSLV’s 2.8 metres, and is 34 metres tall, or roughly 10 metres shorter. While PSLV has a lift off mass of 320 tonnes and can carry payloads up to 1,800 kg, SSLV has a lift off mass of 120 tonnes.
Earth Observation Satellite -02 and AzaadiSAT, a companion satellite created by the student team of “Space Kidz India,” would be carried by SSLV on the mission scheduled for this coming Sunday.
Significance of SSLV
The fourth stage of SSLV is important because it contains the Velocity Trimming Module, which uses liquid propulsion to move the satellites into the desired orbit. The first three stages of the rocket are powered by solid fuel.
Advanced optical remote sensing with great spatial resolution is available from the ISRO-designed Earth observation satellite. It is a member of the microsatellite family of satellites.
After travelling for around 13 minutes, SSLV is anticipated to launch the AzaadiSAT, an eight kilogramme Cubesat created by female students from government schools across the nation to commemorate the 75th anniversary of independence, after the EOS-02.
Low earth orbit satellites under 500 kg are in high demand for uses like earth monitoring and providing internet connectivity in distant places, and the Indian Space Research Organization has developed the SSLV to launch them into orbit.
Earth observation satellite MicroSat 2A is the main payload of SSLV’s first test mission.
ISRO claims that an SSLV rocket can be produced in a week to meet the demands of the expanding space industry.
Each of the 75 distinct payloads carried by the AzaadiSAT weighs about 50 g. ISRO scientists gave advice to girl students from remote areas of the nation so they could construct the payloads that the student team behind “Space Kidz India” integrated.
The data from this satellite would be used by the ground system created by Space Kidz India. In 1965, ISRO started launching sounding rockets to do research on space and the upper atmosphere. In November 1963, a sounding rocket was the first to be fired close to Thiruvananthapuram. Later, in 1980, the space agency deployed the nation’s first satellite launch vehicle, the SLV-3, which has a 40kg maximum payload capacity. With a payload capacity of up to 150 kg, ISRO launched the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) for the first time in 1987. Later, in September 1993, ISRO attempted to launch the first Polar satellite, but it was unsuccessful. However, ISRO saw success with its first successful launch in 1994 as it proved to be a dependable and adaptable workhorse. The largest launch vehicle currently in use and created by India, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, was launched for the first time by ISRO in 2001. The lift-off mass of the GSLV is 414.75 tonnes.
Watch the launch of SSLV-D1/EOS-02 Mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR), Sriharikota, Sunday morning LIVE from 8:45 am on @DDNational & Live-Stream on https://t.co/OFUmYgGtxS#SSLV-D1/#EOS02 pic.twitter.com/8MbmSt98Kp
— Doordarshan National दूरदर्शन नेशनल (@DDNational) August 6, 2022
