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.
