Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C54

Why in News?

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has recently successfully launched the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C54 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Highlights

• This was the 56th flight of PSLV, which marks the final mission for the year for PSLV-C54 rocket.
• INS-2B satellite is a collaborative mission between India and Bhutan with two payloads.
• NanoMx, a multispectral optical imaging payload developed by Space Applications Centre (SAC)
• APRS-Digipeater which is jointly developed by DITT-Bhutan and URSC was successfully deployed
• It will provide high-resolution images to Bhutan for the management of the country’s natural resources.
• The launch of the new satellite is part of India’s efforts to back Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck’s plans to use advanced technology, including ICT and space technology, for the development of Bhutan.
• The collaboration also fits In with India’s “neighbourhood first” policy
• The Anand three axis stabilized Nano satellite is a technology demonstrator for miniaturized electro-optical payload and all other sub-systems like TTC, power, onboard computer and ADCS from Pixxel, India was also placed in the orbit successfully.
• Astrocast, a 3U spacecraft, is a technology demonstrator satellite for the Internet of Things (IoT) as the payload. There are 4 nos. of Astrocast Satellites in this mission. These spacecrafts are housed within an ISISpace QuadPack dispenser.
• The dispenser protects the satellite from contamination.