ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C52 blasted off from the First Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota at the scheduled time of 5:59am on Monday morning.

Hindustan Times reported that the launch vehicle carrying earth observation satellite EOS-04 along with two co-passenger payloads – INSPIREsat-1 and INS-2TD – lifted off from the spaceport at the end of a 25-hour countdown, marking the Indian space agency’s first mission launch in 2022. 

Also read: Countdown for ISRO’s first launch mission of 2022 commences: All you need to know

PSLV-C52 injected EOS-04 into an intended sun-synchronous polar orbit of 529km altitude at 0617am IST, said the Indian Space Research Organisation.

EOS-04 is a Radar Imaging Satellite designed to provide high-quality images under all weather conditions. The images can be used for agriculture, forestry and plantations, soil moisture and hydrology and flood mapping.

Also read: ISRO to launch Chandrayaan-3 in August, 19 other missions scheduled

The student satellite INSPIREsat-1 is developed by the Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology (IIST) in association with the Laboratory of Atmospheric & Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, The technology demonstrator satellite INS-2TD from ISRO is a precursor to India-Bhutan Joint Satellite INS-2B.

Two scientific payloads in this satellite are to improve the understanding of ionosphere dynamics and the sun’s coronal heating processes.

Also read: Nirmala Sitharaman slams Congress for ‘scandalous’ Antrix-Devas deal

The other is a technology demonstrator satellite (INS-2TD) from ISRO, which is a precursor to the India-Bhutan Joint Satellite (INS-2B). Having a thermal imaging camera as its payload, the satellite benefits from the assessment of land surface temperature, water surface temperature of wetland or lakes, delineation of vegetation (crops and forest) and thermal inertia (day and night).

This will be the 54th flight of PSLV and 23rd Mission using PSLV-XL configuration with 6 PSOM-XLs (strap-on motors).