PSLV-C55 launch today, will carry 2 Singapore satellites, 7 desi payloads

NEW DELHI: Isro’s PSLV-C55 mission, which will be launched from the first launchpad of Sriharikota at 2.19 pm on Saturday, is not only important for foreign customers but is also significant for desi space startups as the NSIL’s dedicated commercial rocket will carry two Singapore satellites as main payloads and seven non-separating payloads belonging to Isro, Indian Institute of Astrophysics and startups Bellatrix and Dhruva Space. After launching the two Singapore satellites, the last stage of the rocket (PS4-stage) will double up as an orbital platform for space experiments for the non-separating payloads.
The two Singaporean satellites are TeLEOS-2 and Lumelite-4. TeLEOS-2 is a synthetic aperture radar satellite developed under partnership between Defence Science and Technology Agency, representing the Government of Singapore and ST Engineering. Lumelite-4 has been co-developed by the Institute for Infocomm Research and Satellite Technology and Research Centre of the National University of Singapore. While TeLEOS-2 will be used to provide all-weather day and night coverage and is capable of imaging at one-metre full polarimetric resolution, Lumelite-4 is an advanced 12U satellite developed for technological demonstration of a space-borne VHF data exchange system. Its objective is to augment Singapore's e-navigation maritime safety and benefit the global shipping community, Isro informed.

Bengaluru-based space startup Bellatrix Aerospace will send to space its experimental payload, Hall-effect thruster (HET), which will demonstrate the solar electric propulsion engine for small satellites. HET imparts a very high-specific impulse when compared with conventional rockets, thus reducing the dependence on traditional fuels like hydrazine, which is toxic and carcinogenic.
Hyderabad-based full-stack Space-Engineering solutions provider Dhruva Space will send to space two variants of satellite orbital deployers and one variant of its upcoming radio frequency modules. This will be the third mission of the startup to space in less than a year.
Ahead of the launch, Sanjay Nekkanti, CEO, Dhruva Space, said, “The company’s mission is to make building, launching and operations of satellites and satellite constellation missions as seamless as possible while not compromising on cost, reliability and turnaround times. We look forward to testing our larger classes of separation systems so that customers can leverage these deployers to launch their own payloads beyond Earth’s Orbit.”
Saturday's mission will be the 57th flight of PSLV and 16th mission using the PSLV core-alone configuration.