The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle – PSLV-C47, carrying India’s Earth-observing Cartosat-3 and more than a dozen Nanosatellites from the United States, was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota on Wednesday morning. Cartosat-3 is the ninth satellite of the Cartosat series, and today’s launch is the fifth for ISRO in 2019.
This is the 49th flight of PSLV-C47, which will go into space with Cartosat-3 carrying 13 small commercial satellites for US commercial purposes. An official statement stated that after 17 minutes and 38 seconds, PSLV-C47 successfully injected Cartosat-3 into a sun-synchronous orbit of 509 km at an inclination of 97.5 degrees to the equator.
The Indian Space Research Organization reported that Cartosat-3 is a third-generation agile, advanced satellite with ‘high-resolution imaging capability. It weighs 1,625 kg and will meet the growing demand of consumers for large-scale urban planning, rural resource, and infrastructure development, coastal land use, and land cover. ISRO has said that PSLV-C47 is the 21st flight of PSLV in the ‘XL’ configuration.
“Cartosat-3 is the most complex and advanced earth observation satellite built by ISRO,” Dr. Sivan said. Cartosat-3 has a panchromatic resolution of 0.25 meters, making it the imaging satellite with the highest resolution in its series. It uses 1.2 m optics with 60% of weight removal compared to Cartosat-2.
Cartosat-3 will have a lifespan of five years. ISRO Chairman Dr. K Sivan congratulated and complimented the launch vehicle and satellite teams involved in the mission.
