ISRO’s PSLV-C45 rocket lifting off. Photo: ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully launched its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C45) from Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) SHAR in Sriharikota, India at 9:27 IST on Apr. 1. This flight marked the first mission of PSLV-QL, a new variant of PSLV with four strap-on motors.

PSLV-C45 lifted off  from the Second Launch Pad and injected India’s EMISAT into a 748 km sun-synchronous polar orbit, 17 minutes and 12 seconds after lift-off. After separation, the two solar arrays of EMISAT were deployed automatically and the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network at Bengaluru assumed control of the satellite. The satellite is intended for electromagnetic spectrum measurement. In the coming days, the satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration.

Additionally, satellites from 28 other international customers were carried onboard the satellite. Spire launched its 100th Lemur satellite, Astrocast launched its second Internet of Things (IoT) nano satellite, and Planet Labs launched 20 of its Dove satellites.