Countdown Begins For ISRO’s Launch Of 6 Singapore Satellites

The 59-hour countdown for the launch of six Singapore satellites by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on board its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota began today.

The launch is scheduled at 6:00 pm on December 16, at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in the spaceport of Sriharikota.

“The 59-hour countdown activity of PSLV-C29/TeLEOS-1 Mission has started at 07.00 hours today,” ISRO said.

The Mission Readiness Review committee and Launch Authorisation Board have cleared the countdown, it said.

ISRO’s trusted workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on its 32nd flight would launch the six satellites into a 550-km circular orbit inclined at 15 degrees to the equator.

Of the six satellites, TeLEOS-1 is the primary satellite weighing 400kg whereas the other five satellites include two micro-satellites and three nano-satellites.

TeLEOS-1 is the first Singapore commercial earth observation satellite and would be launched into a low Earth orbit for “remote sensing” applications.

To be launched from the first launch pad, this is the 11th flight of PSLV in ‘core-alone’ configuration without the use of solid strap-on motors.

Antrix Corporation Ltd, the commercial arm of ISRO, has provided launch services in PSLV for 51 customer satellites from 20 countries.

About ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation)

The Indian Space Research Organisation, is the space agency of the Indian government headquartered in the city of Bengaluru. Its vision is to “harness space technology for national development, while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration”.

Formed in 1969, ISRO superseded the erstwhile Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), which was established in 1962 by the efforts of independent India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and his close aide and scientist Vikram Sarabhai. The establishment of ISRO thus institutionalised space activities in India. It is managed by the Department of Space, which reports to the Prime Minister of India.