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ISRO to launch DS-SAR Singaporean satellite on July 30
The mission will take off aboard PSLV-C56 (Photo credit: ISRO)

ISRO to launch DS-SAR Singaporean satellite on July 30

By Sanjana Shankar
Jul 24, 2023
02:41 pm
What's the story

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is prepping for another launch toward the end of this month. The upcoming mission will send a Singaporean satellite, called DS-SAR, along with six other payloads to space aboard a PSLV-C56 (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket, often called the 'the Workhorse of ISRO.' The lift-off will happen from Sriharikota, located in Andhra Pradesh.

Context

Why does this story matter?

ISRO has had a couple of busy weeks, especially given the launch of Chandrayaan-3. The space agency is gearing up to launch satellites for Singapore again. In April, it successfully launched two Singaporean satellites, TeLEOS-2 and Lumelite-4 using PSLV. The accomplishments in the past months serve as a testament to ISRO's advancements in the space sector.

Mission

DS-SAR is a collaboration between DSTA and ST Engineering

ISRO's upcoming mission will launch the DS-SAR satellite, which weighs about 360kg, into a Near-equatorial Orbit (NEO) at an altitude of 535km. The space agency has procured the PSLV-C56 from New Space India Limited (NSIL) for this purpose. DS-SAR has been jointly developed by the DSTA (representing the Government of Singapore) and ST Engineering (Singapore Technology Engineering).

Working

The satellite will support the imagery requirements of Singapore government

DS-SAR carries a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) which allows it to provide round-the-clock coverage in any weather. It can image at 1m resolution at full polarimetry. Once operational, DS-SAR will support the satellite imagery requirements of the Singapore government. ST Engineering will depend on the satellite for multi-modal and higher responsiveness imagery and geospatial services for their commercial customers.

Rocket

PSLV-C56 is configured in its core-alone mode for the mission

Per ISRO's official blog, the launch vehicle PSLV-C56 is configured in its core-alone mode. It is similar to that of C55, which successfully launched a mission in April. The PSLV-C56 model will not make use of rocket strap-on motors in its first stage for providing thrust. This adjustment makes it a flexible launch vehicle that can be moderated according to mission requirements.

Payloads

DS-SAR will launch along with six other payloads 

Six other payloads will be sent to space along with DS-SAR on the upcoming launch. The list includes: VELOX-AM, a 23kg technology demonstration microsatellite ARCADE (Atmospheric Coupling and Dynamics Explorer) which is an experimental satellite SCOOB-II, a nanosatellite flying a technology demonstrator payload Galassia-2, a nanosatellite that will be orbiting at Low Earth Orbit (LEO) ORB-12 STRIDER and NuLIoN complete the payload package

Information

The mission will take off at 6:30am on July 30

ISRO has confirmed that the launch of the mission will happen at 6:30am on July 30. It will take off from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR.

Twitter Post

The mission will launch from Sriharikota