PSLV-C37
PSLV-C37 was the 39th mission of the Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle program and its 16th mission in the XL configuration undertaken by the Indian [Space Research Organisation]. Launched on 14 February 2017 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, the rocket successfully carried and deployed a record number of 104 satellites in Sun-synchronous orbits in a single mission, breaking the earlier record of launching 37 satellites by a Russian Dnepr rocket on 19 June 2014. This record was held until the launch of the Transporter-1 mission by SpaceX on 24 January 2021 which launched 143 satellites.
Its primary payload was the Cartosat-2D Earth observation satellite, while the secondary payloads included a total of 103 nanosatellites, including two experiments from ISRO. The 101 international satellites were launched as part of a commercial arrangement between several firms and ISRO's commercial arm Antrix Corporation Limited, run under the auspices of the Indian Government's Department of Space.
Launch
PSLV-C37 was launched from the Satish Dhawan [Space Centre First Launch Pad|First Launch Pad] of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 09:28 IST on 15 February 2017. It was the 39th flight of the PSLV and the sixteenth in the XL configuration. It carried a total of 104 satellites including the primary payload Cartosat-2D. The launcher started placing the satellites into polar Sun-synchronous orbits one after another after a flight of 16 minutes and 48 seconds. It first ejected the satellite Cartosat-2D at an altitude of approximately, with 97.46 degrees inclination, followed by the two ISRO nanosatellites INS-1A and INS-1B. It then took 11 minutes for PSLV C-37 to place the remaining 101 "co-passenger" satellites into their intended orbits.Soon after separation from the launch vehicle, the two solar arrays on board the Cartosat-2D satellite were automatically deployed. Afterwards, ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network at Bengaluru took control of the satellite. "In the coming days, the satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration following which it will begin to provide remote sensing services using its panchromatic and multispectral cameras," an ISRO statement read. The mission lasted 29 minutes.
Originally, PSLV-C37 was set to launch on 27 January 2017 with 83 satellites. With the addition of twenty more satellites to the payload, the schedule was changed to 15 February 2017.
On October 6 2024, the upper stage of the rocket Re-entered the atmosphere at about 15:48:25 UTC. The corresponding impact point is located in the North Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cuba.
Mission overview
- Mass:
- * Total liftoff weight:
- * Payload weight:
- Overall height:
- Propellant:
- * Stage 1: Solid HTPB based
- * Stage 2: Liquid UH 25 +
- * Stage 3: Solid HTPB based
- * Stage 4: Liquid MMH + MON-3
- Altitude:
- Maximum velocity:
- Inclination: 97.46°
- Period: 94.72 minutes
- Launch azimuth: 140°
The Cartosat-2D weighs, and its design life is five years. The two Indian nanosatellites, designated INS-1A and INS-1B, each carried two payloads from ISRO's Space Applications Centre and the Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems. INS-1A carried a Surface Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function Radiometer and a Single Event Upset Monitor. INS-1B carried an Earth Exosphere Lyman-Alpha Analyzer and Origami Camera as payloads. They weigh and respectively and have been designed with a mission life of six months. An ISRO official said: "The nano satellites are an experimental class of satellites introduced by ISRO because there are requests from academic institutions to use them for data collection. The universities do not have the knowledge to build satellites and tend to take a long time… We want them to focus on the instruments as we can provide the nano satellite bus."
The 103 co-passenger satellites weighed approximately, bringing the total payload mass to. The total launch mass of the rocket was. Among the 96 satellites belonging to US companies, 88 CubeSats were owned by Planet Labs, a private Earth imaging company based in San Francisco, California. Weighing roughly each, the satellites separated from the rocket in different directions to avoid collision. With the launch of PSLV-C37, Planet Labs increased its fleet of satellites to 143, which was the largest private satellite fleet in operation at the time.
Eight Lemur-2 satellites belonging to Spire Global are to provide vessel tracking and weather measurement services. These satellites have a short lifetime of about two to three years requiring replacement at regular intervals.
PSLV-C37 used the rocket engine nozzle manufactured by Vijayawada, from Andhra Pradesh-based company Resins and Allied Productions. This is the 100th nozzle manufactured by RAP to be used in a PSLV. Several components of PSLV-C37 were manufactured by Larsen & Toubro at its advanced composite facility in Vadodara, Gujarat. The honeycomb deck panels used for mounting the heat shield and electronic packages on the upper stage of the PSLV, the antenna mount structure, and the diameter bull gear were all manufactured by L&T.