PSLV-C37

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PSLV-C37
Model of a rocket
Model of the PSLV rocket
Mission typeDeployment of 104 satellites
OperatorISRO
WebsiteISRO website
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftPolar Satellite Launch Vehicle
Spacecraft typeExpendable launch vehicle
ManufacturerISRO
Launch mass320,000 kilograms (710,000 lb)
Payload mass1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date09:28:00, February 15, 2017 (IST)
RocketPolar Satellite Launch Vehicle
Launch siteSriharikota Launching Range
ContractorISRO
Payload
India flag-XL-anim.gif Cartosat-2D, INS-1A & INS-1B
101 others
Mass1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb)
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PSLV-C37 is a mission of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle program which carried 104 satellites to the orbit. It was launched on 15 February 2017 by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. PSLV-C37 broke the earlier records of launching 37 satellites by a Russian rocket on June 19, 2014 and of 29 satellites launched by NASA on 19 November 2013.[1] PSLV-C37 launched 104 satellites in a single mission from the ISRO space centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on 15th February 2017 making it the highest number of satellites launched by a single launch vehicle. [2]

Payload and other parameters[edit]

The rocket launched 104 satellites of which three are Indian, 88 are from the USA and the rest from Germany, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.[1]
The three Indian satellites launched are Cartosat-2D, INS-1A and INS-1B. Cartosat-2D weigh approximately 650 kilograms (1,430 lb) and INS-1A and INS-1B weigh approximately 15 kilograms (33 lb) each. The other foreign satellites contributed to approximately 820 kilograms (1,810 lb) making the total payload of approximately 1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb). The total launch mass of the rocket would be around 320,000 kilograms (710,000 lb).[1]
The 88 satellites of the USA CubeSats weigh around 5 kilograms (11 lb) each separated from the rocket in different directions to avoid collision.[1]
The PSLV-C37 used the rocket engine nozzle manufactured by Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh based company Resins and Allied Productions (RAP). This is the 100th nozzle manufactured by RAP being used in a PSLV.[3]
ISRO claimed that it would recover half the budget of the mission from the foreign countries whose satellites it would launch.[4]

Views[edit]

"We are not looking at it as a record or anything. We are just trying to maximise our capability with each launch and trying to utilise that launch for the ability it has got and get the maximum in return."
- ISRO chairman A. S. Kiran Kumar talking about the launch of 103 satellites.[5]
G. Madhavan Nair, the former chairman of ISRO, criticized the planned program calling it "nothing new" as "within the 1500 kg capacity, you can carry as many satellites as possible". He criticized ISRO for not focusing on manned missions and other technological advancements.[6]


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