The country’s space agency has performed a final test flight of its Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)
India has completed the development of its Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), the head of the country’s space agency announced on Friday following a successful third test flight. The milestone will see India enter the commercial satellite launch market.
The rocket was fired on Friday from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launch site at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The spacecraft was successfully placed in orbit with no deviations, ISRO chairman Sreedhara Panicker Somanath announced.
He added that the launch had marked the completion of ISRO’s small-lift launch vehicle program. The rocket can carry satellites weighing up to 500kg and place them in low-earth orbit (up to 500km above Earth).
The launcher will be key to India’s ambitious plans to launch dozens of satellites with the aim of gathering geo-intelligence. Last year, Somanath announced that India had already configured 50 satellites for launch within the next five years.
India's space journey blazing a new trail! 🚀
🚀 #ISRO launches the third and final developmental flight of SSLV-D3/EOS-08 mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh@IndiaDST @ISRO @DDNewslive @airnewsalerts #SSLVD3 pic.twitter.com/4nnm4nc8id