In a first, India’s space agency ISRO space agency will launch the Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1 and 20 other payloads, including one designed by the Indian start-up on February 28. This will be the first space mission of the Indian Space Research Organization in 2021.
The launch is expected to take place at 10.23 a.m. from the SHAR Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota.
Terming this as the upcoming mission as the beginning of a “new era of space reforms” and ISRO Chairman K Sivan described it “as special for us, special for the entire country”
‘’PSLV-C51 (mission) is going to be a first of its kind in the country. It is going to initiate a new era of space reforms in India and I am sure that these private people will take this activity further and provide services for the entire country,” said K Sivan.
PSLV-C51/Amazonia-1 is the first dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), an Indian government corporation under the Department of Space.
NSIL undertakes this mission in a business contract with Spaceflight Inc.USA.
Amazonia-1 is an optical earth observation satellite of the National Institute of Space Research (INPE).
This satellite will further improve the current system by providing remote sensing data to users to track deforestation in the Amazon region and to examine diversified agriculture throughout the territories of Brazil, ISRO said.
The 20 co-passenger satellites include one from ISRO (INS-2TD), ‘Anand,’ ‘Satish Dhawan’ and ‘UNITYsat.’
Amazonia-1 is the main payload on the ISRO PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) spacecraft.
”Anand’ is an Indian space company, Pixxel, and ‘Satish Dhawan Satellite’ by Chennai-based Space Kidz India.
UNITYsat is a fusion of three satellites developed and constructed jointly by the Jeppiaar Institute of Technology, Sriperumpudur (JITsat), the G.H.Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur (GHRCEsat) and the Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore (Sri Shakthi Sat).
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