ISRO scientists successfully launch Indo-French satellite PSLV-SARAL

ISRO scientists successfully launch Indo-French satellite PSLV-SARAL

February 28th, 2013

ISRO launched Indo-French satellite SARAL and six foreign mini and micro spacecraft from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Thus, PSLV-20 successfully puts seven satellites in orbit.
Some more information:

• PSLV 20
• 23rd mission of PSLV
• PSLV has an impeccable record of 21 consecutive successful flights.
• 9th time ISRO is using the ‘core alone’ variant of the rocket.

Besides SARAL, the other 6 mini and micro spacecrafts were:

1. Micro-satellite UniBRITE from Austria
2. Micro-satellite BRITE from Austria
3. AAUSAT3 from Denmark
4. STRaND from United Kingdom
5. Micro-satellite NEOSSat from Canada
6. Mini-satellite SAPPHIRE from Canada

The ISRO-built SARAL is a 410-kg satellite with payloads – Argos and Altika – from French space agency CNES for study of ocean parameters towards enhancing the understanding of the ocean state conditions which are otherwise not covered by the in-situ measurements.
Objective:
SARAL satellite is aimed for oceanographic studies. SARAL will furnish data products to operational and research user communities, in support of marine meteorology and sea state forecasting; operational oceanography; seasonal forecasting; climate monitoring; ocean, earth system and climate research.
Altimeter (Altika) would assist in studying the sea surface heights while Argos payload is a satellite-based data collection platform.