ISRO launches satellite carrying PM Modi s photo
The PSLV-C51 / Amazonia-1 mission was launched by ISRO from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. On Sunday, India’s PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) C-51 launched with Amazonia-1, a Brazilian satellite, and 18 other satellites. The PSLV-C51 took off from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, about 100 kilometers from Chennai, at about 10.24 a.m., after a 26-hour countdown.
The primary satellite, Amazonia-1, is scheduled to reach orbit about 18 minutes after launch, with the other 18 satellites following in the next two hours. The Space Kidz India (SKI) satellite from Chennai is also among these satellites. An image and name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with a copy of Bhagavad Gita is etched on the spacecraft’s top panel. PSLV-C51 is the 53rd mission of PSLV, according to a tweet from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
Spacetech startup Pixxel’s first satellite Anand was scheduled to be launched on February 28 but has been delayed for a few weeks due to software issues.
3:04 PM
Indians are thriving in Space-Tech sector internationally as well as domestically. Recently, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has named Bhavya Lal as acting chief of staff for the agency. As the senior White House appointee at NASA, Lal has served as a member of the Biden Presidential Transition Agency Review Team for the agency and oversaw the agency’s transition under the Joe Biden-led administration.
NASA said that Lal brings “extensive experience” in engineering and space technology, serving as a member of the research staff at the Institute for Defence Analyses Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) from 2005 to 2020. At STPI, she led the analysis of space technology, strategy, and policy for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and National Space Council, as well as federal space-oriented organisations, including NASA, the Department of Defence, and the intelligence community.
Isro chairman K Sivan has called the upcoming PSLV launch, dedicated to private satellites, “as part of space reforms", which are aimed at increasing participation of private companies in the space sector.