
PSLV-C37 Successfully Launches 104 Satellites in a Single Flight - happy-go-lucky
http://www.isro.gov.in/update/15-feb-2017/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-mission-accomplished-successfully
======
swatkat
104 satellites were deployed in this mission:

a) Cartosat 2 Series - primary payload.

b) 88xDove (88x3U CubeSats) - 22 QuadPack deployers.

c) 8xLEMUR (8x3U CubeSats) - 2 QuadPack deployers.

d) BGUSat (3U CubeSat), PEASSS (3U CubeSat), DIDO-2 (3U CubeSat), Al-Farabi-1
(2U CubeSat), and Nayif-1 (1U CubeSat) - 1 QuadPack deployer.

e) INS-1A and INS-1B are not in CubeSat format. So, they need to be mounted
separately on payload adapter.

So, 1 primary payload + 25 QuadPack deployers + 2 nano-sats in total.

Pics of Quadpacks at: [https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/02/14/indian-rocket-
set-to-p...](https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/02/14/indian-rocket-set-to-
place-104-satellites-in-orbit/)

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sureshn
PSLV is undoubtedly among the cheapest launch vehicles (the cost includes that
of PSLV-XL variant, other variants are even cheaper). The launch contracts are
usually negotiated according to price per kg of payload to the orbit. Given
that the estimated value of the space industry today is around ~$200 billion,
ISRO should charge higher price for foreign country satellites it launches
through its subsidiary Antrix. ISRO is the jewel in the crown for India and
congratulations to all those wonderful scientists who are making India proud.

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happy-go-lucky
Wish the 11th President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam were here to witness
this! He was the project director of India's first Satellite Launch Vehicle
(SLV-III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in near-earth orbit
in July 1980. Between the 1970's and 1990's, Dr. Kalam made an effort to
develop the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and SLV-III projects, both
of which proved to be successful.

~~~
eklavya
He would have been so proud. He was such an inspirational figure. When I was a
kid my father used to tell me to be like Kalam.

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happy-go-lucky
I think so.

An aside, your username tells me a lot about you :)

I believe in self-taught knowledge.

~~~
nojvek
His biography "wings of fire" is very fascinating.

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z0d
My mum used to say a lot about it, Gotta read it now :D

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patrickyeon
Launch video, including onboard footage of stage seperations and satellite
deploys: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQMCw-
jMQlo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQMCw-jMQlo)

~~~
chandru89new
Fab! Thanks.

Curious: when satellites are ejected this way, is it controlled (as in, do
they control the ejection velocity etc.) or is it just "dropped" out?

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bfirsh
More details about the Planet Labs deployment on this launch:

[https://www.planet.com/pulse/planet-launches-satellite-
const...](https://www.planet.com/pulse/planet-launches-satellite-
constellation-to-image-the-whole-planet-daily/)

It is now the largest private satellite constellation ever.

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happy-go-lucky
Doves in space:

[https://twitter.com/dovesinspace](https://twitter.com/dovesinspace)

~~~
ge96
Haha that's awesome, I hope that's legit eg. originated from the cube-sat
though probably not? Anyway still cool.

~~~
jofer
It is! The doves actually tweet!

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ge96
Oh that's cool! Although not AI, just a script "when met post this" sort of
thing but awesome non-the-less. Too bad you can't get access to them "Hey, if
you happen to pass over this person's house, take a picture" haha. Awesome
though. Would be cool to see a readout of real-time sensor data.

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happy-go-lucky
ISRO staff transporting the nose cone of a rocket on bicycle:

[https://twitter.com/prasarbharati/status/831786401620451330/...](https://twitter.com/prasarbharati/status/831786401620451330/photo/1)

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happy-go-lucky
PSLV-C37 / Cartosat -2 Series Mission Successfully Launched all 104 Satellites

[https://www.facebook.com/ISRO/posts/1837886669768020](https://www.facebook.com/ISRO/posts/1837886669768020)

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arjie
What's the hard part about deploying multiple satellites? Is it making sure
they reach different orbits or is it just carrying them or something else?

~~~
shripadk
The hardest part is in ensuring that the satellites are launched in different
directions to avoid them colliding when being deployed in orbit. These
satellites have to be in the same orbit but with increasing distance between
them.

From what I understand, these satellites were injected into the
heliosynchronous orbit ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun-
synchronous_orbit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun-synchronous_orbit)) at
different slots, different angles and at different times.

However, the sole idea behind deploying 104 satellites is not to create a
record of some sort but to utilize the maximum capacity of the workhorse
rocket (PSLV). This results in greater ROI for the Space Agencies (Antrix /
ISRO) as most of these 104 satellites (101 I think) were foreign satellites.

According to this article: [http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/isro-to-
recover-half...](http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/isro-to-recover-half-
the-cost-of-record-breaking-pslv-c37-launch-from-foreign-
customers-361311.html) ISRO will recover half of the total cost incurred for
the launch from foreign satellites mounted on the PSLV.

~~~
happy-go-lucky
> the sole idea behind deploying 104 satellites is not to create a record of
> some sort but to utilize the maximum capacity of the workhorse rocket
> (PSLV).

+1. The PSLV is one of the world's most reliable launch vehicles. It has been
in service for over 20 years.

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happy-go-lucky
PSLV-C37 / Cartosat -2 Series Satellite - Integration Video

[http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-
satellite/...](http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-
satellite/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-satellite-integration-video)

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happy-go-lucky
Google web cache:

[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.isro.gov.in/update/15-feb-2017/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-
mission-accomplished-successfully)

[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.isro.gov.in/launcher/pslv-c37-cartosat-2-series-
satellite)

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sriram_iyengar
Inspiring ISRO. Anytime.

~~~
happy-go-lucky
Really inspiring. They've perfected their craft.

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jakozaur
CubeSats came a long way from being a hitchhiker to main payload to
significant percentage of total payload.

The question is when, CubeSats will be the primary payload.

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happy-go-lucky
Aerospace scientist and former President of India Dr. Kalam working on a
rocket part:

[https://twitter.com/prasarbharati/status/831810654789054464](https://twitter.com/prasarbharati/status/831810654789054464)

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happy-go-lucky
India launches record 104 satellites in single mission

[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-
india-38977803](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-38977803)

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gressquel
is anyone else concerned about countries deploying their own satelittes to
archieve the same thing? Doesnt the orbit get crowded?

~~~
happy-go-lucky
Out of the total 104 satellites, 101 satellites belong to six foreign
countries. They include 96 from the US and one each from Israel, the UAE, the
Netherlands, Switzerland and Kazakhstan.

> Doesnt the orbit get crowded?

Hope you'll have the answer here: [http://www.popsci.com/space-junk-why-cant-
we-see-satellites-...](http://www.popsci.com/space-junk-why-cant-we-see-
satellites-in-images-earth)

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zump
congrats to planet labs, currently the hottest place to work in SV.

~~~
pavanky
How did you make that connection ?

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happy-go-lucky
Of the 104 satellites, some 88 are Planet Labs'.

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pavanky
Ok, I did not know that. Thanks.

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known
Doesn't it make drones more dangerous?

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tinkerrr
Why's that?

