The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday launched eight small satellites into two different orbits in space on board its workhorse launch vehicle, the PSLV. This was the first time ISRO launched satellites into two different orbits on the same flight. “With today’s launch, the PSLV’s capability to launch satellites into two different orbits has been successfully demonstrated,” ISRO said. WATCH VIDEO: 5 Things To Know About ISRO PSLV SCATSAT-1 Launch “In its thirty-seventh flight (PSLV-C35), ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle successfully launched the 371-kg SCATSAT-1 satellite along with seven co-passenger satellites today morning (September 26, 2016) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota,” ISRO said. The mission, lasting two hours, 15 minutes and 33 seconds, was one of the longest for the PSLV. The main satellite on board, the SCATSAT-1, will provide weather forecasting services “through the generation of wind vector products as well as cyclone detection and tracking”, the agency said. READ: ISRO to launch PSLV’s longest flight SCATSAT-1 at 9:12 am today Among the other satellites was Pratham, weighing 10 kg, and PISAT, weighing 5.25 kg. The two satellites were built along with students from IIT-Bombay and PES University, Bengaluru, and a consortium. ALSO READ: ‘Our space scientists keep scripting history’: PM Modi on ISRO’s successful launch of PSLV SCATSAT-1 The other five satellites were international ones from Algeria (ALSAT-1B, ALSAT-2B and ALSAT-1N), Canada (NLS-19) and the US (Pathfinder-1). READ: ISRO to launch student satellite Pratham With the eight satellites launched on Monday, the PSLV has launched a total of 121 satellites — 42 Indian and 79 foreign ones.
