ISRO to launch PROBA-3 mission satellites from Sriharikota on December 4
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has announced that the expected lift-off of the PSLV-C59/PROBA-3 mission satellites will take place on December 4 (Wednesday), at 4:06 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
The mission will involve the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C59 carrying satellites weighing around 550 kg in a highly elliptical orbit.
The PROBA-3 mission is an “In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) mission” by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Posting about the expected launch of the X, the space agency said, “The PSLVC59/PROBA-3 Mission, the 61st flight of the PSLV and the 26th using the PSLV-XL configuration, will carry ESA’s PROBA-3 satellites ( ~550kg) has a highly elliptical orbit.”
“The purpose of the mission is to demonstrate the precise design of the aircraft,” ISRO said in a statement about the launch.
The mission consists of two spacecraft, the Coronagraph Spacecraft (CSC) and the Occulter Spacecraft (OSC) that will be launched together in a “stacked configuration” (one on top of the other).
PSLV is a launch vehicle that helps carry satellites and other various payloads into space, or as per the requirements of ISRO.
This launch car is the first car in India to be equipped with liquid phases.
The first PSLV was successfully launched in October 1994.
PSLVC-59 will have four launch stages, according to ISRO.
The weight to be raised by the vehicle is 320 tons.
The space agency also highlighted that this launch is also an example of PSLV’s “reliable precision” and collaboration with other agencies.
“This mission is an example of the reliable precision of PSLV and the collaboration of NSIL (NewSpace India Limited), ISRO, and ESA,” the post said.
The last PSLV launch was PSLV-C58, launching the XPOSAT satellite “in Eastward low inclination orbit on January 1, 2024”.
ESA said Proba-3 is the world’s first precision flight mission. It will study the solar corona, the outermost and hottest layer of the Sun’s atmosphere.
The satellite was also called (Xray Polarimeter Satellite), it is the first dedicated scientific satellite from ISRO to conduct research on space-based measurements of X-ray emission from celestial sources.
