PSLV lifting off Cartosat-2 and 30 other satellites from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India. Credit: ISRO.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched 31 satellites onboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The launch marks the 42nd flight of PSLV and the first launch since the unsuccessful mission last August when ISRO failed to orbit its eighth navigation satellite.

The latest launch includes ISRO’s Cartosat-2 series remote-sensing satellite and 30 other satellites provided by various ISRO customers from Canada, Finland, France, Korea, UK and the US.

“The launch marks the 42nd flight of PSLV and the first launch since the unsuccessful mission last August.”

After completing a 16min 37s flight, the satellites reached a polar Sun-synchronous orbit of 503km, which is 97.55° inclined to the equator.

The 710kg Cartosat-2 series satellite, in addition to all other co-passenger satellites, successfully separated from the PSLV rocket in a prearranged sequence.

After separating from its launch vehicle, the Cartosat-2 was automatically deployed into a polar orbit 365km-high.

ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bengaluru has taken over the control of the satellite, which is set to be brought to its final operational configuration over the next few days.

ISTRAC will also control and monitor Cartosat-2’s two other Indian co-passenger satellites, including the 11kg INS-1C and the 100kg Microsat.

Once fully operational, Cartosat-2 will use its panchromatic (black and white) and multispectral (colour) cameras to provide remote sensing data.