The PSLV-C43 mission will be launched from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, the 34th of its kind, from 9.30am onward today. (Image Source: ISRO) The PSLV-C43 mission will be launched from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, the 34th of its kind, from 9.30am onward today. (Image Source: ISRO)

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched the PSLV-C43/HysIS mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota late in the morning of November 29. This mission, the sixth one this year that has used a polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV), puts HysIS – India’s own earth observation satellite, into orbit. The satellite was accompanied by 30 other satellites developed by various nations, including 23 from the US.

Here are more details regarding the mission, as well as India’s latest earth-imaging satellite.

Launch timings, orbit, and payload

The spacecraft was successfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 9.58 am on November 29. The PSLV launcher has a total length of 39.4m and consists of a four-stage rocket, that has alternating solid and liquid stages. PSLV-C43 is a core-alone version of the launch vehicle, and the lightest one in operation. This launch marks the 13th successful flight of this PSLV model.

PSLV-C43 mission’s payload consists of the HysIS satellite, one micro-satellite and 29 nano satellites. The combined weight of the satellites is 641.5kg. While the 30 foreign satellites will be launched at an altitude of 504.5km from the Earth’s surface, ISRO’s HysIS satellite will be launched at an altitude of 636.6km. The satellite have been projected into a polar synchronous orbit, which sets it in motion along the axis that runs along the Earth’s geographic North and South Pole.

ISRO PSLV-C43 mission: HysIS satellite instruments, objectives

HysIS is short for Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite, and the objective of the probe is to provide observations within the visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Simply put, the imaging tools will help the HysIS satellite monitor atmospheric activity and climate change, while also assisting studies of Earth’s magnetic field. These observations will have a host of applications, prime among which relate to agriculture, forestry, water management, and coastal patterns.

Short for Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite, the objective of the probe is to provide observations within the visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. (Image Source: ISRO) Short for Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite, the objective of the probe is to provide observations within the visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. (Image Source: ISRO)

Built around the ISRO Mini Satellite-2 (IMS-2) bus, HysIS is 2.158m x 1.386m x 1.121m, and weighs nearly 380kg. The satellite’s payload also consists of a 730W power backup, and a 64Ah Li-ion battery. HysIS has been launched at an altitude of 636.6km from the Earth’s surface, and the probe will be set into a polar sun synchronous orbit, where the probe will be at the same position relative to the Sun, and maintain its revolutions with that of the Earth. It will continue to make observations till 2023, when the mission ends.

After this launch, the next big event for the Indian space organisation will be its awaited mission to the moon – Chandrayaan-2 – in early 2019.

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