PSLV-C52 Mission

• IAS NEXT, Lucknow
• 15, Feb 2022

Reference News:-

The Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO has successfully launched the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C52 from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

Key takeaways 

• The PSLV-C52 mission has also injected three satellites into the orbits.
• It has placed an EOS-04 radar imaging satellite weighing 1710 kgs into orbit.
  • EOS-04 is designed to provide high-quality images under all weather conditions for applications such as agriculture, forestry and plantations, soil moisture and hydrology and flood mapping.
  • This satellite will be positioned into a Sun synchronous polar orbit gradually.
• As a co-passenger INS-2TD technology demonstrator satellite and INSPIRE sat 1 student satellite were also placed into orbit. 
• INS-2TD is a precursor to India-Bhutan Joint Satellite INS-2B.
  • INS-2TD carries a thermal imaging camera to assess land and water surface temperature and thermal inertia at day and at night.
• INSPIRE sat-1 is a small satellite from the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology in association with the Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics at University of Colorado. 

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

• Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is the third generation launch vehicle of India.
• It is a four-staged launch vehicle with first and third stages using solid rocket motors and second and fourth stages using liquid rocket engines.
• It is the first Indian launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages.