India Launches First Commercial Space Mission for Europe

Why in the news?

ISRO’s PSLV launched ESA’s Proba-3 payload, marking India’s first commercial space mission for Europe, enhancing its global reputation as a reliable space partner.

Key Milestone in Indian Space Collaboration:

  • On Thursday, the PSLV rocket launched successfully from ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, marking its 59th commercial mission.
  • This mission was India’s first collaboration with Europe for a commercial space launch, executed by NewSpace India Ltd. (NSIL), ISRO’s commercial arm.
  • The payload, Proba-3, developed under the European Space Agency (ESA), is designed for coronagraphy to simulate a solar eclipse and enable scientific studies.
  • Despite a technical issue delaying the launch by a day, the mission was declared successful, demonstrating India’s reliability in global space innovation.

India Launches First Commercial Space Mission for Europe

Successful Launch of PROBA-3 Mission:

  • ISRO launched the European Space Agency’s (ESA) PROBA-3 mission aboard PSLV-C59 from Sriharikota at 4:04 PM on Thursday.
  • Originally scheduled for Wednesday, the launch was postponed due to a detected anomaly.
  • ISRO Chairman S. Somanath confirmed the successful deployment of satellites into the designated orbit.

Next Steps in the Mission

  • The satellites, currently attached, will remain connected during the initial commissioning phase overseen in Belgium.
  • They are set to separate early next year for individual evaluations.
  • The operational phase, including active formation flying for corona observations, will begin in approximately four months.
  • ESA officials, including mission manager Damien Galano, expressed enthusiasm, highlighting the mission’s potential to revolutionize future space operations.

About Proba-3 Mission:

  • Aim: To observe the Sun’s corona using satellite formation flight.
  • Details: The corona is the Sun’s outermost atmosphere.
  • Deployment: Two satellites will be placed in a high elliptical orbit, reaching 60,000 km from Earth.
  • Function: Twin satellites will autonomously maintain formation for continuous corona observation.
  • Launch Vehicle: ISRO’s PSLV-XL rocket.

Key Features of PROBA-3 Mission

  • PROBA-3, a pair of twin spacecraft, is ESA’s latest in-orbit demonstration mission.
  • The satellites will perform precise formation flying, maintaining alignment down to a millimeter, simulating a single giant spacecraft.
  • The mission aims to create artificial solar eclipses, providing prolonged views of the Sun’s corona for scientific studies.
  • The spacecraft’s signals were received almost instantly by the Yatharagga station in Australia and monitored at ESA’s control center in Belgium.

Sources Referred:

PIB, The Hindu, Indian Express, Hindustan Times