ISRO’s maiden small satellite launch vehicle (SSLV), carrying earth observation satellite EOS-02 and co-passenger students satellite AzaadiSAT lifted off from the Sriharikota spaceport on Sunday. The SSLV-D1/EOS-02 mission by the Indian space agency was aimed at garnering a larger pie in the small launch vehicles market.
At the end of a seven-and-a-half-hour countdown, the 34 metre long SSLV soared majestically at 9.18 am amid cloudy skies to place the satellites into the intended orbit. The mission completed all its stages but data loss was reported at the terminal stage. The space research organisation confirmed that while the satellites had been injected and all stages completed, the orbits achieved were ‘less than expected’, making them unstable.
After analysing data, ISRO said satellites were no longer usable as the SSLV-D1 placed the satellites into 356 km x 76 km elliptical orbit instead of 356 km circular orbit. “Satellites are no longer usable. Issue is reasonably identified. Failure of a logic to identify a sensor failure and go for a salvage action caused the deviation. A committee would analyse and recommend. With the implementation of the recommendations, ISRO will come back soon with SSLV-D2," the body said.
The SSLV can put payloads (mini, micro or nanosatellites) weighing upto 500 kg into the 500 km planar orbit, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had earlier said.
The EOS-02 is an experimental optical remote sensing satellite with a high spatial resolution. Its aim was to realise and fly an experimental imaging satellite with a short-turnaround time and to demonstrate launch-on-demand capability. EOS-02 belongs to the microsatellite series of space crafts.
The AzaadiSAT is a 8U Cubesat weighing around 8kgs. It carries 75 different payloads each weighing around 50grams. Girl students from rural regions across the country were provided guidance to build these payloads.
The payloads are integrated by the student team of ‘Space Kidz India’. The ground system developed by ‘Space Kidz India’ will be utilised to receive the data from this satellite, ISRO said.
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