PSLV-C56: ISRO’s 90th Mission Successfully Places Seven Singaporean Satellites Into Intended Orbit

PSLV-C56: The primary satellite for PSLV-C56 is DS-SAR, and hence, the mission is also known as the DS-SAR mission. All the seven satellites have been placed into the intended orbit.

PSLV-C56, the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO's) 90th space mission, has successfully placed seven Singaporean satellites into a 535-kilometre circular orbit, and at an inclination of five degrees. The primary satellite for PSLV-C56 is DS-SAR, and hence, the mission is also known as the DS-SAR mission. The seven satellites were launched atop a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on July 30, 2023, at 6:30 am IST, from First Launch Pad, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The fourth stage of PSLV will be placed into a lower orbit, ISRO Chairman S Somanath announced during the livestream of the launch.

He explained that the stage will be brought to a lower orbit of 300 kilometres in order to ensure that it has a lower lifespan, and bring it back to reduce space debris.

DS-SAR is a 360-kilogram satellite developed through a partnership between the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), an agency under the Government of Singapore, and ST Engineering, a Singaporean engineering and technology group. Six co-passenger satellites were launched atop PSLV-C56. These are: Velox-AM, ARCADE, SCOOB-II, NuLIoN, Galassia-2, and ORB-12 Strider, ISRO said in a mission update. ARCADE stands for Atmospheric Coupling and Dynamics Explorer. 

Velox-AM, ARCADE, and SCOOB-II have been developed by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; NuLIoN has been developed by NuSpace, an aerospace company in Singapore; Galassia-2 is developed by the National University of Singapore; and ORB-12 Strider is developed by Aliena, a space-tech company in Singapore. 

DS-SAR consists of a synthetic aperture radar payload developed by Israel Aerospace Industries. The function of the synthetic aperture radar is to monitor the weather the entire day, and capture images at one-metre resolution. These satellite images will serve the purposes of different agencies within the Government of Singapore. Meanwhile, ST Engineering will use the DS-SAR satellite to provide geospatial services to commercial customers.

According to ISRO, Velox-AM is a 23-kilogram microsatellite which will be launched with the purpose of technology demonstration; ARCADE is an experimental satellite; SCOOB-II is a nanosatellite and will be used for technology demonstration; NuLIoN is an advanced nanosatellite that will enable seamless "Internet of Things" connectivity in urban and remote locations; Galassia-2 is a nanosatellite that will orbit Earth at low-Earth orbit; and ORB-12 Strider is a satellite developed as part of an international collaboration. 

The PSLV-C56 mission was launched in collaboration with New Space India Limited (NSIL). This was PSLV's second mission this year, and 58th mission so far.