ISRO successfully launches 10 satellites into orbit

ISRO successfully launches 10 satellites into orbit : Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today created history with the launch of its latest Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV - C9). A world record was set when the mission successfully injected 10 satellites into the orbit.


The launch took off from Sriharikota Andhra Pradesh. PSLV weighs 230 tonnes and is as high as a 12-storey building. The mission was accomplished by putting two Indian satellites and eight foreign satellites. The previous record was held by Russia, which had launched eight satellites in one go.

The first stage of the rocket was ignited at the lift-off. Three minutes later a massive heat shield got peeled off. There after, the third and the fourth stages ignited taking the rocket higher.

Fifteen minutes after the flight, India's mapping satellite, CARTOSAT 2A was the first one to be put into its orbit. 45 second later India's remote sensing satellite was placed into orbit.

The other satellites were then released, sequentialy, with a gap of 20 seconds. The mission was concluded in 20 minutes after lift-up.

Japan's CUTE was the first foreign satellite to be placed in orbit and Germany's RUBIN was the last to be injected.

CORTOSAT 2A is a high resolution mapping satellite placed at a height of 600 kms. It has an ability to identify objects as small as cars from its orbit in space.