On Friday (August 16, 2024), The Indian Space Research Organization successfully launched the Earth Observation Satellite during the final development flight of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle-03(SSLV-D3) from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
SSLV-D3-EOS-08 mission came after the second successful launch of the second test flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2-EOS-07) in February 2023.
This is the third mission for ISRO based in Bengaluru in 2024 after PSLV-C58/XpoSat was successful in January and GSLV-F14/INSAT-3DS missions were successful in February.
The smallest SSLV rocket approximately 34 metre tall scheduled to take off on August 15 at 9.17 am finally launched on August 16, at 9.19 am from here at the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
The key objectives of SSLV-D3-EOS-08 mission include creating and developing microsatellites by making payload instruments compatible with a microsatellite bus, and incorporating new technologies required by future operational satellites, ISRO said.
After today’s (August 16, 2024) mission, ISRO will have completed its developmental flight of this smallest rocket capable of carrying up to a maximum weight of 500 kg and inserting them into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) i.e., an altitude upto about ~500 km above earth’s surface).
Such missions would also give impetus to NewSpace India Ltd. – commercial arm of ISRO – to undertake commercial launches using these types of Small Satellite Launch Vehicles along with industry.
The EOS is built on Microsat/IMS-1 bus platform and has three payloads i.e., Electro Optical Infrared Payload (EOIR), Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry payload (GNSS-R), and SiC UV Dosimeter.
The spacecraft has a mission life of one year. It has a mass of approximately 175.5 kg and generates power of around 420 W. The satellite interfaces with the SSLV-D3/IBL-358 launch vehicle, ISRO said.
The primary payload EOIR is designed to capture images in the Mid-Wave IR (MIR) and Long-Wave IR (LWIR) bands taken during day and night for application like satellite-based surveillance, disaster monitoring, environmental monitoring, fire detection, volcanic activity observation etc., industrial and power plant disasters monitoring.
The second GNSS-R payload intends to demonstrate the possible utilization of GNSS-R in remote sensing applications such as ocean surface wind analysis, soil moisture assessment, cryosphere studies over the Himalayan region,flood detection in real-time and inland waterbody detection.
SiC UV Dosimeter – third payload monitors UV irradiance at the viewport of Crew Module in Gaganyaan Mission also acts high dose alarm sensor for gamma radiation.
