India’s PSLV-C49, carrying its last EOS-01 earth observation satellite and nine client satellites, took off from the spaceport here on Saturday. The polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C49 / EOS-01) lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center here at 3.12pm at the end of a 26-hour countdown.
Liftoff was originally scheduled for 3.02pm, but was delayed 10 minutes due to debris in the vehicle’s path, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said. This is ISRO’s first mission this year.
EOS-01 is intended for applications in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support, said the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Customer satellites are from Lithuania (1), Luxembourg (4) and the USA (4).
This was India’s first rocket launch since the COVID-19
the pandemic broke out, imposing numerous restrictions on work and enforcing multiple lockdowns.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO and the country’s space industry on the successful launch, saying that scientists overcame many constraints to meet the deadline during this COVID-19 time.
“I congratulate @ISRO and the Indian space industry on the successful launch of the PSLV-C49 / EOS-01 mission today. At the time of COVID-19, our scientists overcame many constraints to meet the deadline, “Modi tweeted. In another tweet, he noted that nine satellites, including four from the US and Luxembourg and one from Lithuania, have also launched on the mission.
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