New Delhi: ISRO launched a PSLV with two smaller co-passenger satellites from the First Launch Pad at 05.59 am on Monday from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. This is be the 54th flight of PSLV and 23rd Mission using PSLV-XL configuration with 6 PSOM-XLs (strap-on motors).

This was the ISRO’s first launch mission of 2022, the 25 hour countdown for which started on Sunday. PSLV the launch vehicle is designed to orbit an earth observation satellite EOS-04, weighing 1,710 kg into a sun synchronous polar orbit of 529 km. EOS-04 is a Radar Imaging Satellite designed to provide high quality images under all weather conditions for applications such as Agriculture, Forestry and Plantations, Soil Moisture and Hydrology and Flood mapping.

ISRO successfully launched PSLV-C52 rocket carrying Earth Observation Satellite EOS-04, a Radar Imaging Satellite designed to provide high quality images under all weather conditions. pic.twitter.com/zIqU2Gtn87

— Sajid Dar 🍁 (@Beingsajiddarr) February 14, 2022

ISRO in its official twitter said that PSLV-C52/EOS-04 Mission countdown process of 25 hours and 30 minutes leading to the launch has commenced at 04:29 hours on Monday. Two smaller co-passenger satellites include a student satellite (INSPIREsat-1) from IIST in association with Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics at University of Colorado, Boulder. It is also contributed by NTU, Singapore and NCU, Taiwan. Two scientific payloads in this satellite are to improve the understanding of ionosphere dynamics and sun’s coronal heating processes.

The other is a technology demonstrator satellite (INS-2TD) from ISRO, which is a precursor to the India-Bhutan Joint Satellite (INS-2B). Having a thermal imaging camera as its payload, the satellite benefits the assessment of land surface temperature, water surface temperature of wetland or lakes, delineation of vegetation (crops and forest) and thermal inertia (day and night).