India Launches 88 Earth Imaging Satellites
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in India recently launched 88 satellites from Earth-imaging company Planet Labs to space. The launching of the satellites will give the start-up ability to provide an image of the Earth's landmass every day.
According to Techcrunch, Planet Company that acquired Google's satellite Earth imaging business was responsible for pulling off another monumental feat. The launching of the 88 satellites into the orbit was a part of the largest satellite payload with a total of 104 aboard.
Planet Company through its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle expects its data to become useful for different applications like measuring agricultural yields, responders aiding during natural disasters, and monitoring natural resources.
The launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on Wednesday was already a record for India's space program which carries 104 satellites. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in South India. PSLV-C37 launches its primary payload which is the 714 kilograms Cartosat-2 series satellite.
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle purpose of launching was for Earth observation, carrying 103 co-passenger satellites which weighed about 663 kg into a 505 kilometer polar Sun Synchronous Orbit.
Planet Company has now 144 satellites in orbit as a result of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle launching. Chief Strategy Officer Robbie Schingler and Lab's Co-Founder said that the company has also constructed the world's second largest private network by miniaturizing satellites and learning to build them at scale.
The private network has a custom built automated mission control system which is created with a data pipeline to process the vast amount of images that they collect. Furthermore, it can also develop a software platform to help customers, researchers, government, and NGOs to easily have access to the imagery.
According to Space, the Prime Minister of India congratulated the successful launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The launch marks as the 39thflight of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle that launches several satellites for historic missions.