Monday 1 April 2013

PSLV C-20

India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in its twenty third flight (PSLV - C20), launches the Indo-French satellite SARAL along with six commercial payloads from Canada, Austria, Denmark and UK into a 785 km polar sun synchronous orbit inclined at an angle of 98.538 deg to the equator. PSLV - C20 was launched on Feb 25, 2013 from the First Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota.

SARAL:
With a lift-off mass of 407 kg, SARAL is the 56th satellite to be launched by PSLV. The six payloads from abroad together have a lift-off mass of 259.5 kg. PSLV - C20 is the ninth flight of PSLV in 'Core-Alone' configuration (without solid strap-on motors).
The Satellite with ARGOS and ALTIKA (SARAL) is a joint Indo-French satellite mission for oceanographic studies. SARAL will perform altimetric measurements designed to study ocean circulation and sea surface elevation. The payloads of SARAL are:

Ka band Altimeter, ALTIKA- built by the French National Space Agency CNES. The payload is intended for oceanographic applications, operates at 35.75 Giga Hertz.

ARGOS Data Collection System- built by the French National Space Agency CNES. ARGOS contributes to the development and operational implementation of the global ARGOS Data Collection System. It will collect a variety of data from ocean buoys to transmit the same to the ARGOS Ground Segment for subsequent processing and distribution.

Solid State C-band Transponder (SCBT) is from ISRO and intended for ground RADAR calibration. It is a continuation of such support provided by C-Band Transponders flown in the earlier IRS-P3 and IRS-P5 missions.

The payloads of SARAL are accommodated in the Indian Mini Satellite-2 bus, which is built by ISRO.
SARAL Applications
SARAL data products will be useful for operational as well as research user communities in many fields like
  • Marine meteorology and sea state forecasting
  • Operational oceanography
  • Seasonal forecasting
  • Climate monitoring
  • Ocean, earth system and climate research
  • Continental ice studies
  • Protection of biodiversity
  • Management and protection of marine ecosystem
  • Environmental monitoring
  • Improvement of maritime security
Lift-off Mass 407 kg
Orbit 781 km polar Sun synchronous
Sensors 4 PI sun sensors, magnetometer, star sensors and miniaturised gyro based Inertial Reference Unit
Orbit Inclination 98.538o
Local Time of Equator 18:00 hours crossing
Power Solar Array generating 906 W and 46.8 Ampere-hour Lithium-ion battery
Onboard data storage 32 Gb
Attitude and Orbit Control 3-axis stabilisation with reaction wheels, Hydrazine Control System based thrusters
Mission Life 5 years
Launch date Feb 25, 2013
Launch site SDSC SHAR Centre, Sriharikota, India
Launch vehicle PSLV - C20
SARAL 

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