- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the RISAT 2BR1 satellite and 9 commercial payloads abroad the PSLV C-48 today.
- The newly formed commercial arm of ISRO,
NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), has launched two sets of payloads in less than a month. - ISRO chief, K Sivan, credits the PSLV rocket for India's commercial success.
"PSLV C-48 successfully injected RISAT 2BR1 and nine customer satellites precisely into 576-kilometre orbit," said K Sivan during the post-launch press conference.
This NSIL's second launch within less than a month. On 26 November, ISRO and NSIL launched 14 satellites — Cartosat-3 and 13 nano-satellites from the US.
And, Sivan gives all the credit to the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which just completed its 50th successful launch — making it the most experienced launch vehicle in India's arsenal.
"The PSLV had five variants. It initially had the payload capability of 850 kilograms, it is now enhanced to 1.9 tonnes. The PSLV is versatile, which has various mission options," explained Sivan.
PSLV has placed 52.7 tonnes of payloads — cargo carried by the rocket — into orbit over the past 26 years since its inception, and 17% of that mass was customer satellites. That's only set to grow with ISRO and NSIL's 12 missions lined up before March.
"We have very many successes, and at the same time, we have a large number of missions to do," said Sivan.
NSIL's predecessor, Antrix Corporation Limited, launched a lot of 239 satellite between 2016 to 2019 — earning total revenue of ₹6,289.
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