NEW DELHI: India’s 42nd communications satellite which will help in disaster management and internet connectivity was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Thursday in the agency’s second successful mission during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ISRO’s reliable workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, performed flawlessly on its 52nd mission with the CMS-01 satellite, lifting off at 3:41 pm from the second launch pad at the spaceport of Sriharikota.
A few minutes later the rocket was placed into orbit and ISRO chairman Dr K Sivan announced the mission was a success.
CMS-01 hopes to provide services in the Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum covering India, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands, officials said.
PSLV-C50 is the 22nd flight of PSLV in “XL” configuration – equipped with six strap-on motors.
It follows the successful launch of PSLV-C49 (EOS-01) earth observation satellite and nine private spacecraft on November 7 which was ISRO’s first mission of the year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.