(Image source from: www.bgr.in)

Indian space agency says that India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket would launch RISAT-2BR1 the country’s latest spy satellite and nine foreign satellites on December 11.

The rocket numbered as PSLV-C48 will lift off at 3.25 pm with RISAT-2BR1, a radar imaging earth observation satellite weighing about 628kg, says Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO).

The rocket will be launching from the first launch pad in Andhra Pradesh at Sriharikota and it places RISAT-2BR1 into an orbit of 576km.

The nine foreign satellites multi-mission Lemur-4 satellites, technology demonstration Tyvak-0129, earth imaging 1HOPSAT from USA, search and rescue Tyvak-0092 from Italy and QPS-SAR- a radar imaging earth observation satellite from Japan will be piggybacking on the Indian satellite.

New Space India Limited launches the international customer satellites under a commercial arrangement

According to ISRO, the rocket will have four strap-on motors and the satellites will be carried by PSLV-QL variant with the December 11 flight being the second space trip for this rocket variant.

The rocket RISAT-2BR1 slings after 16 minutes into its flight and a minute later the first of the nine customer satellites will be ejected. The mission is expected to end in about 21 minutes after the last in the customer satellites will be put in the orbit.

By Shrithika Kushangi