New year, new missions: India to launch 31 satellites on January 10

Sakshi Chaturvedi
Published on: 30 Dec 2017 5:40 AM GMT
Mission space: India launches 31 satellites, along with Cartosat-2
X

Bengaluru: India will launch 31 satellites, including the earth observation spacecraft Cartosat on January 10, from its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, said a space official on Saturday.

"We have tentatively scheduled the rocket launch at 0930 hours to carry Cartosat and other satellites, including 28 from the US and five other countries in a single mission," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Director Devi Prasad Karnik told IANS here.

The first space mission in 2018 aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C40) comes four months after a similar rocket failed to deliver the country's eighth navigation satellite in the earth's lower orbit on August 31.

ALSO READ: Mumbai Inferno: Lookout notice has been issued against all three accused

"The sixth Cartosat in 2A series and other satellites are being integrated with the rocket at the spaceport. The mission launch board will decide the rocket's lift-off time for the reverse countdown two days ahead," said Karnik.

The mission's payload will also include one each nano and micro satellite from India, besides Cartosat-2.

As an observational satellite, Cartosat will beam high-quality images for cartographic, urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation and utility management like road network monitoring.

The previous satellite in the Cartosat-2 series was launched on February 15, from the spaceport on the east coast, about 90 km northeast of Chennai.

IANS

Sakshi Chaturvedi

Sakshi Chaturvedi

A journalist, presently working as a Sub-Editor at newstrack.com.

Next Story