Cartosat-2B — the remote-sensing satellite put in orbit by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15) on Monday — is in fine fettle and will become operational in a week.
The rocket put four other satellites as well in orbit at an altitude of 637 km.
“The health of the satellite is good. Everything has been checked out. It will become operational in a week's time,” said P.S. Veeraraghavan, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.
The images taken by Cartosat-2B's camera will be available soon after it becomes operational. The satellite's solar panels were deployed soon after it flew out of the fourth stage of the vehicle, Mr. Veeraraghavan said.
Praise for ISRO
He said rocket specialists from other countries had commended the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the PSLV's repeated success with multiple satellite launches.
This is the eighth time that a PSLV has put several satellites in orbit.
“It is not easy to launch several satellites using the same vehicle. They should be launched in a sequence and ensuring there is no collision,” Mr. Veeraraghavan said.
On April 28, 2008, the PSLV-C9 put 10 satellites in orbit, one after another, creating a record. The satellites were Cartosat-2A, Indian Mini Satellite-1, and eight nano satellites from abroad.
Mr. Veeraraghavan said the PSLV-C15's countdown was smooth and there was no problem at all. With 16 successes in a row, “the PSLV has become a reliable workhorse.”
The PSLV-C15's flawless mission came as “a morale booster” to the ISRO after the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle's (GSLV-D3) failure on April 15 this year, he said.
