[1]The stage is all set for Isro’s 100th mission. The launch of the PSLV-C21 from Sriharikota at 9.51 am on Sunday will be a historical and memorable occasion for the Indian Space Research Organisation.
Since its inception, Isro has placed as many as 62 satellites in orbit starting with the first satellite, Aryabhatta, using 36 launch vehicles apart from a space capsule recovery experiment.
According to Isro officials, with a lift-off mass of 712 kg, SPOT is the heaviest satellite to be launched by PSLV for an international customer.
Sources at Shar said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be present on Sunday to witness Isro’s 100th mission wherein the PSLVL, carrying a French earth observation satellite SPOT 6, along with a micro satellite from Japan, will be launched into a 655 km polar orbit inclined at an angle of 98.23 degrees to the equator.
The Japanese micro-satellite PROITERES, carried as an auxiliary payload, has a lift-off mass of 15 kg.
PSLV-C21 is the eighth flight of PSLV in “core-alone” configuration (without solid strap-on motors). SPOT 6 is an earth observation satellite capable of imaging the earth with a resolution of 1.5 me
ters.
This latest generation optical remote sensing satellite is built by Astrium SAS, a leading European space technology company.
The Japanese micro-satellite, PROITERES is intended to study powered flight of a small satellite by an electric thruster and observe Kansai district in Japan with a high-resolution camera.
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[1] http://archive.asianage.com/09pmjpgcropdisplayjpg-592