New Delhi: In yet another milestone achieved by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) 43 has been successfully lifted off on Thursday with 31 satellites including Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS) - an earth observation satellite - and 30 other foreign satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. According to ISRO, the PSLV-CA (Core Alone) version (without its usual strap-on motors), standing 44.4 metres tall and weighing about 230 tonnes, took off at 9:58 am from the first launch pad of the space centre spewing a thick orange flame. This entire mission, as per the space research organisation, will be completed within 112 minutes since the rocket’s lift off.

As per the latest update, the PSLV-C43 has successfully injected mission’s main payload HysIS into sun-synchronous polar orbit. The HysIS satellite has been placed into the orbit with a mission lifespan of five years in 636 km polar sun-synchronous orbit. This was achieved at a height of 636.6km, with an inclination angle of 97.67 degrees.

ISRO has been live streaming the entire launch process on its official Twitter account. Through the live stream, metrics at time of writing display an altitude of around 640 km from the Earth's surface. The first three stages of the mission have been completed without failure. Other 30 partnering satellites will be projected from PSLV-C39 in another 90 minutes.


Another view of Indian satellite HysIS separation


The primary goal of HysIS is to study the earth's surface in visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. It will also be used for strategic purposes. The co-passengers of HysIS include one micro and 29 nanosatellites from eight different countries. All these satellites will be placed in a 504 km orbit.

While 23 satellites are from the US, the rest are from Australia, Canada, Columbia, Finland, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Spain. These satellites have been commercially contracted for launch through Antrix Corporation Limited, the commercial arm of ISRO.