India Launches 10 Satellites At Once 201
freakxx writes "India sets a world record after launching 10 satellites in one go using its workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). All the satellites were put into their respective orbits successfully. It was the core-alone version of the launch vehicle weighing 230 tonnes with a payload of 824 kg in total. Two of the satellites were Indian satellites, while the rest were from different countries. By this launch, the ISRO has proven its credibility and it is going to boost India's image in the attractive multi-billion commercial market of satellite launches. This was the 12th successful launch of the PSLV."
AAUSAT-II (Score:4, Informative)
You can follow the status here:
http://aausatii.space.aau.dk/eng/ [space.aau.dk]
Re:Good for India. (Score:5, Informative)
2. What better way to improve living conditions than to become a hub for space technology?
3. I think you may be under some misconceptions about the state of Indian rural life as compared to, for example, the state of Mississippi.
If you're not sure that you know what you're talking about, perhaps you should do some research [wikipedia.org]. If you had, you'd be able to say something like:
India has twice the poverty rate of, for example, the U.S., though that has dropped substantially since their independence and is widely seen as a potential model for a rapid exit from third-world status for other nations.
16 satellite launch ... (Score:5, Informative)
Most of those sats were built by amateurs (Score:4, Informative)
The Delfi-C3 sat is relying on the Amateur Radio operators around the world to help capture telemetry and forward it to their earth station. Pretty cool, in my book.
Re:Laugh while you can (Score:3, Informative)
Re:16 satellite launch ... (Score:2, Informative)
Also, considering the size of a Cubesat (1 kg, 0.1 cubic meter), you could launch several hundred on any launch vehicle.
You're kidding, right? (Score:3, Informative)
http://taz.de/blogs/wp-inst/wp-content/blogs.dir/44/files/2007/02/043%20overcrowded%20train%20India.jpg [taz.de]
Re:Building a... MIRV? (Score:4, Informative)
The 690kg CARTOSAT and the 83kg IMS-1 are both remote sensing satellites, equipped with panchromatic (B&W) and Spectral cameras to image earth at visible and infrared frequencies. Many, if not all, indian satellites are for remote sensing/meteorological - because in a country where agriculture is the primary industry, it is paramount to track the movement of rainfall, particularly the seasonal monsoons. These weather predictions are vital for farmers to ensure a good harvest. A good harvest leads to lower food prices - in effect, this launch has a very close relationship to feeding India's poor, contrary to many trolls here.
As an interesting side note, the PSLV will also be used for Chandrayan-1, India's first mission to moon.The focus of India's space program has, thankfully, been always about peaceful purposes while making money on the side by providing a cheap option for launching amateur radio/science project satellites built by students and universities (such as the other 8 in this launch). More info about the launch here [isro.org].