The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched three satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.
The satellites – all are from Singapore – will be launched on the PSLV9 (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle)-C53 platform.
According to news agency PTI, the three satellites are the DS-EO and NeuSAR, built by Korea’s Starec Initiative, while the third is is the 2.8 kg SCOOB-I by Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
The SCOOB-I satellite in particular is the first in the Student Satellite Series (S3-I), a hands-on student training program from NTU’s Satellite Research Centre (SaRC).
The DS-EO is a 365 kg, electro-optic, multi-spectral satellite with 0.5 m resolution imaging capability to be used in land classification, and serve humanitarian assistance and disaster relief needs, while the 155-kg NeuSAR is Singapore’s first small commercial satellite carrying an SAR payload that can provide images 24 hours a day in all-weather conditions.
The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) will be orbiting the earth as a stabilised platform, ISRO tweeted. The POEM uses the spent PS4 stage as an orbital platform, ISRO said, noting this is the first time this will happen.
This will be the second PSLV mission of the year; in February ISRO launched PSLV-C52 with the Earth observation satellite EOS-04 and two smaller satellites, according to the official website of the space agency.