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PSLV-C37 Successfully Launches 104 Satellites in a Single Flight

363 points by happy-go-lucky 10y ago

happy-go-lucky 10y ago
Google web cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.isro.gov.in/update/15-feb-2017/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-mission-accomplished-successfully http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://... http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.isro.gov.in/launcher/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-satellite http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://...
swatkat 10y ago
104 satellites were deployed in this mission: a) Cartosat 2 Series - primary payload. b) 88xDove (88x3U CubeSats) - 22 QuadPack deployers. c) 8xLEMUR (8x3U CubeSats) - 2 QuadPack deployers. d) BGUSat (3U CubeSat), PEASSS (3U CubeSat), DIDO-2 (3U CubeSat), Al-Farabi-1 (2U CubeSat), and Nayif-1 (1U CubeSat) - 1 QuadPack deployer. e) INS-1A and INS-1B are not in CubeSat format. So, they need to be mounted separately on payload adapter. So, 1 primary payload + 25 QuadPack deployers + 2 nano-sats in total. Pics of Quadpacks at: https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/02/14/indian-rocket-set-to-place-104-satellites-in-orbit/ https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/02/14/indian-rocket-set-to-p...
zump 10y ago
congrats to planet labs, currently the hottest place to work in SV.
- pavanky 10y ago
  How did you make that connection ?
  - happy-go-lucky 10y ago
    Of the 104 satellites, some 88 are Planet Labs'.
    - pavanky 10y ago
      Ok, I did not know that. Thanks.
- naveenknag 10y ago
  What do you mean by SV?
  - pkd 10y ago
    Silicon Valley, I suppose.
happy-go-lucky 10y ago
Doves in space: https://twitter.com/dovesinspace https://twitter.com/dovesinspace
- ge96 10y ago
  Haha that's awesome, I hope that's legit eg. originated from the cube-sat though probably not? Anyway still cool.
  - jofer 10y ago
    It is! The doves actually tweet!
    - ge96 10y ago
      Oh that's cool! Although not AI, just a script "when met post this" sort of thing but awesome non-the-less. Too bad you can't get access to them "Hey, if you happen to pass over this person's house, take a picture" haha. Awesome though. Would be cool to see a readout of real-time sensor data.
known 10y ago
Doesn't it make drones more dangerous?
- tinkerrr 10y ago
  Why's that?
- mirekrusin 10y ago
  No.
jakozaur 10y ago
CubeSats came a long way from being a hitchhiker to main payload to significant percentage of total payload. The question is when, CubeSats will be the primary payload.
jakozaur 10y ago
CubeSats came a long way from being a hitchhiker to main payload to significant percentage of total payload. The question is when, CubeSats will be the primary payload.
happy-go-lucky 10y ago
PSLV-C37 / Cartosat -2 Series Mission Successfully Launched all 104 Satellites https://www.facebook.com/ISRO/posts/1837886669768020 https://www.facebook.com/ISRO/posts/1837886669768020
sureshn 10y ago
PSLV is undoubtedly among the cheapest launch vehicles (the cost includes that of PSLV-XL variant, other variants are even cheaper). The launch contracts are usually negotiated according to price per kg of payload to the orbit. Given that the estimated value of the space industry today is around ~$200 billion, ISRO should charge higher price for foreign country satellites it launches through its subsidiary Antrix. ISRO is the jewel in the crown for India and congratulations to all those wonderful scientists who are making India proud.
sriram_iyengar 10y ago
Inspiring ISRO. Anytime.
- happy-go-lucky 10y ago
  Really inspiring. They've perfected their craft.
arjie 10y ago
What's the hard part about deploying multiple satellites? Is it making sure they reach different orbits or is it just carrying them or something else?
- shripadk 10y ago
  The hardest part is in ensuring that the satellites are launched in different directions to avoid them colliding when being deployed in orbit. These satellites have to be in the same orbit but with increasing distance between them. From what I understand, these satellites were injected into the heliosynchronous orbit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun-synchronous_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun-synchronous_orbit) at different slots, different angles and at different times. However, the sole idea behind deploying 104 satellites is not to create a record of some sort but to utilize the maximum capacity of the workhorse rocket (PSLV). This results in greater ROI for the Space Agencies (Antrix / ISRO) as most of these 104 satellites (101 I think) were foreign satellites. According to this article: http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/isro-to-recover-half-the-cost-of-record-breaking-pslv-c37-launch-from-foreign-customers-361311.html http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/isro-to-recover-half... ISRO will recover half of the total cost incurred for the launch from foreign satellites mounted on the PSLV.
  - happy-go-lucky 10y ago
    > the sole idea behind deploying 104 satellites is not to create a record of some sort but to utilize the maximum capacity of the workhorse rocket (PSLV). +1. The PSLV is one of the world's most reliable launch vehicles. It has been in service for over 20 years.
- swatkat 10y ago
  One of the challenges is to pack all those satellites in launch vehicle's payload adapter. The payload adapter on launch vehicle needs to be flexible enough to allow such varying number of payloads. In this mission, ISRO had to realize a new/modified payload adapter to carry those 104 satellites. Next is to accurately inject all those satellites - either into their respective orbits if it's a multi-orbit mission, or with sufficient time gap and re-orientation between injections if it's a single-orbit mission. This was a single orbit mission (all sats released into SSO). So, PSLV's 4th stage had to time those 104 satellite injections. It also need to re-orient itself for each injection depending on satellite's requirement. This mission had as many as 103 "separation events". All this logic is pre-programmed and executed by launch vehicle's onboard computer. Check out QuadPacks lined up before the launch: http://blog.isilaunch.com/the-quadpack-line-up/ http://blog.isilaunch.com/the-quadpack-line-up/ And, check out those QuadPacks mounted on PSLV payload adapter around primary payload: https://imgur.com/a/LM9Cp https://imgur.com/a/LM9Cp
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
bfirsh 10y ago
More details about the Planet Labs deployment on this launch: https://www.planet.com/pulse/planet-launches-satellite-constellation-to-image-the-whole-planet-daily/ https://www.planet.com/pulse/planet-launches-satellite-const... It is now the largest private satellite constellation ever.
123younas786 10y ago
http://lootumaza.com/ashampoo-driver-updater-1-1-0-22990-latest-serial-key-free/ http://lootumaza.com/ashampoo-driver-updater-1-1-0-22990-lat...
happy-go-lucky 10y ago
India launches record 104 satellites in single mission http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-38977803 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-38977803
happy-go-lucky 10y ago
PSLV-C37 / Cartosat -2 Series Satellite - Integration Video http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-satellite/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-satellite-integration-video http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-satellite/...
happy-go-lucky 10y ago
Wish the 11th President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam were here to witness this! He was the project director of India's first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in near-earth orbit in July 1980. Between the 1970's and 1990's, Dr. Kalam made an effort to develop the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and SLV-III projects, both of which proved to be successful.
- eklavya 10y ago
  He would have been so proud. He was such an inspirational figure. When I was a kid my father used to tell me to be like Kalam.
  - happy-go-lucky 10y ago
    I think so. An aside, your username tells me a lot about you :) I believe in self-taught knowledge.
    - nojvek 10y ago
      His biography "wings of fire" is very fascinating.
      - happy-go-lucky 10y ago
        I've read that, too. It's good.
      - z0d 10y ago
        My mum used to say a lot about it, Gotta read it now :D
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
happy-go-lucky 10y ago
Aerospace scientist and former President of India Dr. Kalam working on a rocket part: https://twitter.com/prasarbharati/status/831810654789054464 https://twitter.com/prasarbharati/status/831810654789054464
happy-go-lucky 10y ago
ISRO staff transporting the nose cone of a rocket on bicycle: https://twitter.com/prasarbharati/status/831786401620451330/photo/1 https://twitter.com/prasarbharati/status/831786401620451330/...
gressquel 10y ago
is anyone else concerned about countries deploying their own satelittes to archieve the same thing? Doesnt the orbit get crowded?
- dugluak 10y ago
  Remember majority of satellites on this flight didn't belong to just India.
- happy-go-lucky 10y ago
  Out of the total 104 satellites, 101 satellites belong to six foreign countries. They include 96 from the US and one each from Israel, the UAE, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Kazakhstan. > Doesnt the orbit get crowded? Hope you'll have the answer here: http://www.popsci.com/space-junk-why-cant-we-see-satellites-in-images-earth http://www.popsci.com/space-junk-why-cant-we-see-satellites-...
- lmm 10y ago
  Satellites are expensive, people rarely deploy them for fun. If an existing satellite offered the same functionality people would likely license data/airtime/what-have-you from the operator of that satellite rather than launching their own. As long as their orbital information is properly registered and they have a proper end-of-life plan for them there's little risk in deploying new satellites; if you want to get concerned about crowding the orbits, China deliberately blowing up a satellite a couple of years ago was much more problematic.
patrickyeon 10y ago
Launch video, including onboard footage of stage seperations and satellite deploys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQMCw-jMQlo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQMCw-jMQlo
- happy-go-lucky 10y ago
  That's fantastic. Thank you.
- pawadu 10y ago
  wow, that was really fascinating!
- chandru89new 10y ago
  Fab! Thanks. Curious: when satellites are ejected this way, is it controlled (as in, do they control the ejection velocity etc.) or is it just "dropped" out?

363 points by happy-go-lucky 10y ago

Google web cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.isro.gov.in/update/15-feb-2017/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-mission-accomplished-successfully http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://... http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.isro.gov.in/launcher/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-satellite http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://...

swatkat 10y ago

104 satellites were deployed in this mission: a) Cartosat 2 Series - primary payload. b) 88xDove (88x3U CubeSats) - 22 QuadPack deployers. c) 8xLEMUR (8x3U CubeSats) - 2 QuadPack deployers. d) BGUSat (3U CubeSat), PEASSS (3U CubeSat), DIDO-2 (3U CubeSat), Al-Farabi-1 (2U CubeSat), and Nayif-1 (1U CubeSat) - 1 QuadPack deployer. e) INS-1A and INS-1B are not in CubeSat format. So, they need to be mounted separately on payload adapter. So, 1 primary payload + 25 QuadPack deployers + 2 nano-sats in total. Pics of Quadpacks at: https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/02/14/indian-rocket-set-to-place-104-satellites-in-orbit/ https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/02/14/indian-rocket-set-to-p...

zump 10y ago

congrats to planet labs, currently the hottest place to work in SV.

pavanky 10y ago
How did you make that connection ?
- happy-go-lucky 10y ago
  Of the 104 satellites, some 88 are Planet Labs'.
  - pavanky 10y ago
    Ok, I did not know that. Thanks.
naveenknag 10y ago
What do you mean by SV?
- pkd 10y ago
  Silicon Valley, I suppose.

happy-go-lucky 10y ago

Doves in space: https://twitter.com/dovesinspace https://twitter.com/dovesinspace

ge96 10y ago
Haha that's awesome, I hope that's legit eg. originated from the cube-sat though probably not? Anyway still cool.
- jofer 10y ago
  It is! The doves actually tweet!
  - ge96 10y ago
    Oh that's cool! Although not AI, just a script "when met post this" sort of thing but awesome non-the-less. Too bad you can't get access to them "Hey, if you happen to pass over this person's house, take a picture" haha. Awesome though. Would be cool to see a readout of real-time sensor data.

known 10y ago

Doesn't it make drones more dangerous?

tinkerrr 10y ago
Why's that?
mirekrusin 10y ago
No.

jakozaur 10y ago

CubeSats came a long way from being a hitchhiker to main payload to significant percentage of total payload. The question is when, CubeSats will be the primary payload.

jakozaur 10y ago

CubeSats came a long way from being a hitchhiker to main payload to significant percentage of total payload. The question is when, CubeSats will be the primary payload.

happy-go-lucky 10y ago

PSLV-C37 / Cartosat -2 Series Mission Successfully Launched all 104 Satellites https://www.facebook.com/ISRO/posts/1837886669768020 https://www.facebook.com/ISRO/posts/1837886669768020

sureshn 10y ago

PSLV is undoubtedly among the cheapest launch vehicles (the cost includes that of PSLV-XL variant, other variants are even cheaper). The launch contracts are usually negotiated according to price per kg of payload to the orbit. Given that the estimated value of the space industry today is around ~$200 billion, ISRO should charge higher price for foreign country satellites it launches through its subsidiary Antrix. ISRO is the jewel in the crown for India and congratulations to all those wonderful scientists who are making India proud.

sriram_iyengar 10y ago

Inspiring ISRO. Anytime.

happy-go-lucky 10y ago
Really inspiring. They've perfected their craft.

arjie 10y ago

What's the hard part about deploying multiple satellites? Is it making sure they reach different orbits or is it just carrying them or something else?

shripadk 10y ago
The hardest part is in ensuring that the satellites are launched in different directions to avoid them colliding when being deployed in orbit. These satellites have to be in the same orbit but with increasing distance between them. From what I understand, these satellites were injected into the heliosynchronous orbit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun-synchronous_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun-synchronous_orbit) at different slots, different angles and at different times. However, the sole idea behind deploying 104 satellites is not to create a record of some sort but to utilize the maximum capacity of the workhorse rocket (PSLV). This results in greater ROI for the Space Agencies (Antrix / ISRO) as most of these 104 satellites (101 I think) were foreign satellites. According to this article: http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/isro-to-recover-half-the-cost-of-record-breaking-pslv-c37-launch-from-foreign-customers-361311.html http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/isro-to-recover-half... ISRO will recover half of the total cost incurred for the launch from foreign satellites mounted on the PSLV.
- happy-go-lucky 10y ago
  > the sole idea behind deploying 104 satellites is not to create a record of some sort but to utilize the maximum capacity of the workhorse rocket (PSLV). +1. The PSLV is one of the world's most reliable launch vehicles. It has been in service for over 20 years.
swatkat 10y ago
One of the challenges is to pack all those satellites in launch vehicle's payload adapter. The payload adapter on launch vehicle needs to be flexible enough to allow such varying number of payloads. In this mission, ISRO had to realize a new/modified payload adapter to carry those 104 satellites. Next is to accurately inject all those satellites - either into their respective orbits if it's a multi-orbit mission, or with sufficient time gap and re-orientation between injections if it's a single-orbit mission. This was a single orbit mission (all sats released into SSO). So, PSLV's 4th stage had to time those 104 satellite injections. It also need to re-orient itself for each injection depending on satellite's requirement. This mission had as many as 103 "separation events". All this logic is pre-programmed and executed by launch vehicle's onboard computer. Check out QuadPacks lined up before the launch: http://blog.isilaunch.com/the-quadpack-line-up/ http://blog.isilaunch.com/the-quadpack-line-up/ And, check out those QuadPacks mounted on PSLV payload adapter around primary payload: https://imgur.com/a/LM9Cp https://imgur.com/a/LM9Cp

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

bfirsh 10y ago

More details about the Planet Labs deployment on this launch: https://www.planet.com/pulse/planet-launches-satellite-constellation-to-image-the-whole-planet-daily/ https://www.planet.com/pulse/planet-launches-satellite-const... It is now the largest private satellite constellation ever.

123younas786 10y ago

http://lootumaza.com/ashampoo-driver-updater-1-1-0-22990-latest-serial-key-free/ http://lootumaza.com/ashampoo-driver-updater-1-1-0-22990-lat...

happy-go-lucky 10y ago

India launches record 104 satellites in single mission http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-38977803 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-38977803

happy-go-lucky 10y ago

PSLV-C37 / Cartosat -2 Series Satellite - Integration Video http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-satellite/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-satellite-integration-video http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-satellite/...

happy-go-lucky 10y ago

Wish the 11th President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam were here to witness this! He was the project director of India's first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in near-earth orbit in July 1980. Between the 1970's and 1990's, Dr. Kalam made an effort to develop the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and SLV-III projects, both of which proved to be successful.

eklavya 10y ago
He would have been so proud. He was such an inspirational figure. When I was a kid my father used to tell me to be like Kalam.
- happy-go-lucky 10y ago
  I think so. An aside, your username tells me a lot about you :) I believe in self-taught knowledge.
  - nojvek 10y ago
    His biography "wings of fire" is very fascinating.
    - happy-go-lucky 10y ago
      I've read that, too. It's good.
    - z0d 10y ago
      My mum used to say a lot about it, Gotta read it now :D
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]

happy-go-lucky 10y ago

Aerospace scientist and former President of India Dr. Kalam working on a rocket part: https://twitter.com/prasarbharati/status/831810654789054464 https://twitter.com/prasarbharati/status/831810654789054464

happy-go-lucky 10y ago

ISRO staff transporting the nose cone of a rocket on bicycle: https://twitter.com/prasarbharati/status/831786401620451330/photo/1 https://twitter.com/prasarbharati/status/831786401620451330/...

gressquel 10y ago

is anyone else concerned about countries deploying their own satelittes to archieve the same thing? Doesnt the orbit get crowded?

dugluak 10y ago
Remember majority of satellites on this flight didn't belong to just India.
happy-go-lucky 10y ago
Out of the total 104 satellites, 101 satellites belong to six foreign countries. They include 96 from the US and one each from Israel, the UAE, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Kazakhstan. > Doesnt the orbit get crowded? Hope you'll have the answer here: http://www.popsci.com/space-junk-why-cant-we-see-satellites-in-images-earth http://www.popsci.com/space-junk-why-cant-we-see-satellites-...
lmm 10y ago
Satellites are expensive, people rarely deploy them for fun. If an existing satellite offered the same functionality people would likely license data/airtime/what-have-you from the operator of that satellite rather than launching their own. As long as their orbital information is properly registered and they have a proper end-of-life plan for them there's little risk in deploying new satellites; if you want to get concerned about crowding the orbits, China deliberately blowing up a satellite a couple of years ago was much more problematic.

patrickyeon 10y ago

Launch video, including onboard footage of stage seperations and satellite deploys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQMCw-jMQlo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQMCw-jMQlo

happy-go-lucky 10y ago
That's fantastic. Thank you.
pawadu 10y ago
wow, that was really fascinating!
chandru89new 10y ago
Fab! Thanks. Curious: when satellites are ejected this way, is it controlled (as in, do they control the ejection velocity etc.) or is it just "dropped" out?