The Indian Space Research Organisation on Wednesday successfully launched a record 20 satellites using its trusted workhorse, the PSLV-C34 from Sriharikota.

[img]http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/galleries/PSLV-%20C34%20Gallery/2pslv-c34takeoff-view2.jpg[/img]

The rocket's main cargo is India’s 725.5 kg Cartosat-2 series satellite for earth observation. This satellite is similar to the earlier Cartosat-2, 2A and 2B. After its injection into a 505 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit by PSLV-C34, the satellite was brought to operational configuration following which it will begin providing regular remote sensing services using Panchromatic and Multi-spectral cameras.

The imagery of Cartosat-2 series satellite will be useful cartographic applications, urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation, utility management like road network monitoring, water distribution, creation of land use maps, precision study, change detection to bring out geographical and manmade features and various other Land Information System (LIS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) applications.

The dual-use satellite is equipped with a Panchromatic Camera and a high-resolution multi-spectral instrument. This camera will have a resolution of 0.65 metres which is an improvement over the 0.8 metre camera sent on earlier missions. The new camera onboard the mission, can not only click high resolution pictures of disputed border and coastal areas, but can also record videos of sensitive targets from space, compress it, and relay it back to Earth.

The launch will help place India in a select league of nations like US, Israel and China who have similar or better spy satellites that keep a close watch of happenings on Earth from space.

[img]http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/galleries/PSLV-%20C34%20Gallery/4cartosat-2seriessatelliteincleanroomatsriharikota.jpg[/img]

The other 19 satellites weighing totally around 560 kg are from US, Canada, Germany and Indonesia as well as one satellite each from Chennai’s Sathyabama University and College of Engineering, Pune.

The mission would last for 26 and a half minutes by which time all satellites will be put into a polar synchronous orbit of 505 km height one by one.

Though Isro has been placing multiple satellites into the orbit in a single launch for the last few years, Wednesday’s event is the biggest ever embarked by the space agency in terms of the number of satellites.

With 20 satellites, the agency beat its previous record of placing 10 satellites in April 2008.

[img]http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/galleries/PSLV-%20C34%20Gallery/10pslv-c34heat-shieldclosedwithallthe20satellitesinside.jpg[/img]
pslv-c34heat-shield closed with all the 20 satellites inside

Till date India has launched 57 foreign satellites successfully.


Russia holds the world record for placing the most number of satellites in a single launch. Its Dnepr rocket launched 37 satellites in 2014.



As a mark of the India-US friendship, ISRO or the Indian Space Research Organisation has launched 13 American-made small satellites into space. This includes an earth imaging satellite made by Terra Bella, a Google-owned company. The 110 kg Google satellite called SkySat Gen- 2 is capable of taking sub-meter resolution images and high definition video.


In the final stages of the mission, ISRO also demonstrated the vehicle's capability to place satellites in different orbits. In the demonstration, the vehicle reignited twice after its fourth and final stage and moved further a few kilometres into another orbit.

ISRO scientists said the demonstration is for their next mission when they are planning to inject satellites in different orbits using a single rocket.

its military implications are MIRV capability demonstrated for indian ICBMs AGNI 5 AGNI 6 and SLBM K4
[img]http://militaryrussia.ru/forum/download/file.php?id=26539&mode=view[/img]


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsCHCf4PnBg

ISRO next mission

The test flight of the indigenously-developed scramjet engine is scheduled to take place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota sometime in July.

Named Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), the test platform will comprise a scramjet engine hitched to a two-stage sounding rocket (RH- 560).

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“The vehicle has been characterised and is being fabricated at the VSSC and the ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri,” VSSC Director K.Sivan told The Hindu over phone from Sriharikota, amid preparations for the launch of the PSLV-C34 carrying 20 satellites.

Coasting phase

The air-breathing engine will be released at a height of 70 km and ignited during the coasting phase. Apart from the hypersonic ignition at Mach 6, ISRO hopes to sustain the combustion for 5 seconds.

“The test is also expected to help us achieve good thrust value with the scramjet engine,” Dr. Sivan said.

Maintaining combustion in hypersonic conditions poses technical challenges because the fuel has to be ignited within milliseconds.

[img]http://1.bp..com/-2ZhhnxVE84Q/VkjBY9nTb-I/AAAAAAAAeYM/zGhp5b5aDmo/s1600/ISRO_Scramjet_Engine_3.jpg[/img]

Space agencies across the world are focussing on the development of scramjet technology because it contributes to smaller launch vehicles with more payload capacity and promises cheaper access to outer space.

Atmospheric oxygen

While conventional rocket engines need to carry both fuel and oxidiser on board for combustion to produce thrust, scramjets obtain oxygen from the atmosphere by compressing the incoming air before combustion at hypersonic speed. The scramjet engine can also liquefy the oxygen and store it on board.


[img]http://3.bp..com/-ACAs5et39SI/Tu_9hSAKUGI/AAAAAAAAAow/OFtLofyvwiU/s1600/h8.jpg[/img]

Dr. Sivan said the post-flight analysis of the RLV-TD test flight had shown encouraging results.

Critical technology

“We could understand the hypersonic aerothermodynamics of the delta winged body, the Thermal Protection System worked well and the hypersonic re-entry and autonomous navigation and landing could be validated. Another critical technology that was successfully tested was the Flush Air Data System to measure the surface pressure on the aircraft.”

He said it would take more analysis and detailed discussions and planning to move on to the development of the full-scale version of the RLV.

zzz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2QlvglMKAA

@ kikuyu1

nemesis2u:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2QlvglMKAA

@ kikuyu1

Always a joy to see thousands of hours of training and millions in weapons development well spent in the real world! Were those secondaries going off?

kikuyu1:


Always a joy to see thousands of hours of training and millions in weapons development well spent in the real world! Were those secondaries going off?

first hit was a milan ATGM through the window of the bunker

the secondaries r hits from 106mm RCL or 105mm IFG artillery guns. definitely not mortars

this action was done within hours of 2 soldiers found mutilated opposite the now destroyed post.

x

@ nemesis

Got your email.