The SSLV is based off the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), pictured above. Photo: ISRO

Spaceflight purchased the first commercial launch of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) from NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), scheduled for launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India later this year. Spaceflight has already sold-out the entire manifest for this secured SSLV-D2 launch with spacecraft from an undisclosed U.S.-based satellite constellation customer. Spaceflight will aggregate the mission, delivering a single point of contact for the customer, handling all aspects of integration and mission management for the launch.

The ISRO developed the SSLV with a payload capacity of 500 kilograms (kg) to mid-inclination Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) and 300 kg to Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) making it ideally suited for launching small satellites. By comparison, the larger Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from ISRO is capable of launching 1100 – 1600 kg capacity payload into SSO.

“The SSLV is the much-needed solution to fill the gap in the portfolio of small launch vehicles,” said Curt Blake, CEO and President of Spaceflight. “SSLV is designed for the launch-on-demand concept with very quick turn-around capability in between launches. SSLV is perfectly suited for launching multiple microsatellites at a time and supports multiple orbital drop-offs. We’re excited to add SSLV to our launch portfolio and manage many launches together — first to LEO mid-inclinations this year and SSO missions starting in the fall of 2020.”