New Delhi, Aug 16: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday successfully launched its third and final developmental flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle-D3 (SSLV-D3), carrying the Earth Observation Satellite EOS-08. The rocket majestically lifted off from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, located approximately 135 km east of Chennai, at the scheduled time of 9.17 am.
The SSLV-D3-EOS-08 mission, according to the Bengaluru-headquartered national space agency, aims to design and develop a microsatellite and create payload instruments compatible with the microsatellite bus. Built on the Microsat/IMS-1 bus, EOS-08 carries three sophisticated payloads: the Electro Optical Infrared Payload (EOIR), the Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry payload (GNSS-R), and the Silicon Carbide (SiC) UV Dosimeter.
The EOIR payload is engineered to capture images in the Mid-Wave Infrared (MIR) and Long-Wave Infrared (LWIR) bands, both during day and night. Its applications include satellite-based surveillance, disaster and environmental monitoring, fire and volcanic activity detection, and industrial and power plant disaster monitoring.
Meanwhile, the GNSS-R payload showcases the potential of using GNSS-R-based remote sensing for various applications such as ocean surface wind analysis, soil moisture evaluation, cryosphere studies over the Himalayan region, and detection of floods and inland water bodies.
The SiC UV Dosimeter plays a critical role in monitoring UV irradiance at the viewport of the Crew Module in the Gaganyaan Mission and functions as a high-dose alarm sensor for gamma radiation, ensuring the safety of the mission's crew.
