Bengaluru :The order book is growing as its reliability has been proven,” says Isro chairman Dr K. Radhakrishnan, speaking with pride about the rising number of customers worldwide for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) as Indian space scientists are set to seal their place in the sun with the 25th flight of the rocket on Friday.
Though this rocket was originally designed to launch indigenous remote sensing satellites, PSLV has launched more foreign satellites than Indian during the last two decades.
Recently, DMC International Imaging (DMCII), the wholly owned subsidiary of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), United Kingdom, and ST Electronics (Satcom & Sensor Systems) Pvt. Ltd, Singapore, chose PSLV for the launch of four satellites during 2014-2015.
Dr Radhakrishnan told this newspaper that Friday’s flight to launch IRNSS-1B, the second made-in-India 1,400 kg navigational satellite for the regional navigational system, a system similar to Global Positioning System of the US, Glosnass of Russia, and Galileo of Europe, would be a major achievement for the space organisation. “We will be breaking new ground and expect more launch orders for PSLV. It is very competitive cost-wise and has a proven record as a launch vehicle in all its variants,” he added.
On Friday, a modified yet powerful variant of PSLV, similar to ones which hoisted Chandrayaan-I and the Mars Orbiter Mission (MoM), will blast off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota Range, with IRNSS-1B onboard.
The satellite has been designed to provide accurate position information service to users in the country as well as a region extending up to 1,500 km from its boundary.
