ISRO’s PSLV-C28 launch carrying five commercial satellites. Photo: ISRO

[Via Satellite 07-13-2015] The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully launched five satellites from spacecraft manufacturer Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) on a July 10 Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-XL mission. The PSLV-C28 mission was the 30th PSLV launch, and ninth of the XL configuration. Antrix, the commercial arm of ISRO, established the launch agreement.

Three of the five satellites are for SSTL subsidiary DMC International Imaging (DMCii), forming the DMC3/TripleSat Earth observation constellation. The satellites reached a 651km sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit (LEO), where they will provide high spatial and temporal resolution optical data. All three satellites are in the same plane and phased with a separation of 120 degrees between them in order to image any target on the Earth’s surface every day. Beijing, China-based Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology Company (21AT), a commercial Earth observation satellite operator, purchased the imaging capacity of the three satellites.

The other two satellites are both for technology demonstrations. CBNT 1, with a mass of 91 kg, is an optical Earth observation technology demonstration micro-satellite, and the 7 kg De-orbitSail from Surrey Space Center is an experimental nano-satellite testing a deorbit method that uses a large thin membrane sail to increase drag at the end of a satellite’s life.