PSLV-C40/Cartosat-2 Series Satellite Mission

India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its forty second flight (PSLV-C40), will launch the 710 kg Cartosat-2 Series Satellite for earth observation and 30 co-passenger satellites together weighing about 613 kg at lift-off. PSLV-C40 will be launched from the First Launch Pad (FLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.

The co-passenger satellites comprise 3 Microsatellites from India and 25 Nanosatellites from six countries, namely, Canada, Finland, France, Republic of Korea, UK and USA. The total weight of all the 31 satellites carried onboard PSLV-C40 is about 1,323 kg.

Primary Satellite

The Cartosat-2 Series Satellite is the primary satellite being carried by PSLV-C40. This remote sensing satellite is similar to the earlier six satellites of the Cartosat-2 series and is intended to augment data services to the users.

After its injection into a 505 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit by PSLV-C40, the satellite will be brought to operational configuration, following which it will begin providing regular remote sensing services using its Panchromatic and Multi-spectral cameras. The imagery sent by the satellite will be useful for cartographic applications, urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation,

utility management like road network monitoring, water distribution, creation of land use maps, change detection to bring out geographical and man made features and various other Land Information System (LIS) as well as Geographical Information System (GIS) applications.

ISRO Press Release