ISRO to launch India's newest SSLV Launch Vehicle

Karthik Naren
Aug 6, 2022
3 min read

SSLV-D1 manifests EOS-02 and "AzaadiSAT" 8 kg CubeSat built by 750 girl students from Government Schools in India.

Chennai, August 05, 2022 The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to launch its New Launch Vehicle "SSLV" is scheduled to launch from the First Launch Pad at SHAR, Shri Harikota at 09:18 IST (03:48 UTC) on August 07, 2022.

SSLV-D1 is a mission to launch EOS-02 (Earth Observation Satellite-02) and a ride-share satellite AzaadiSAT, into 356 km Low Earth Orbit.

The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) is the new launch vehicle of ISRO capable of launching Mini, Micro or Nanosatellites (10 to 500 kg mass) to 500 km orbit. SSLV is a three-stage vehicle with all solid propulsion stages. The satellite insertion into the intended orbit is achieved through a liquid propulsion-based Velocity Trimming Module (VTM).

Payloads on SSLV-D1 Mission

EOS-02

EOS-02 is an experimental optical remote sensing satellite with a high spatial resolution. The objective of EOS-02 is to realise and fly an experimental imaging satellite with a short turn-around time and to demonstrate launch-on-demand capability. EOS-02 belongs to microsatellite series of spacecrafts. The bus configuration is derived from IMS-1 (Indian Mini Satellite-1) bus.

Mission Objectives

EOS-02 has a Design and development of an agile and experimental satellite with an imaging payload.
Providing inputs on thermal anomalies towards supporting applications in the domains of geo-environmental studies, forestry, hydrology, agriculture, soil, coastal studies, etc.

The New technologies realised for the Microsat series of spacecrafts include Payloads with a common fore optics and metallic primary mirror realised with the limited mass and volume of Microsat Bus.

EOS-02 Configuration

The structural construction is of aluminum honeycomb. Cuboid structure of 552 mm x 600 mm x 600 mm is designed and qualified for a total spacecraft mass of 145 kg.
Mainframe/Bus subsystems are integrated independent payloads. All payload elements are accommodated on the top deck.
The two solar panels generating 350 W power are the only deployable appendages.
The platform is highly agile with a maneuverability of 3.5°/s and a pointing accuracy of 0.1".
The payload data transmission rate is 32 Mbps in X-Band.

AzaadiSAT

AzaadiSAT is an 8U Cubesat weighing around 8 kg. It carries 75 different payloads (in reference to the nation's 75th Independence Day), each weighing around 50 grams and conducting femto-experiments. 750 Girl students from rural regions across the country were provided guidance to build these payloads. The payloads are integrated by the student team of "Space Kidz India".

The payloads include a UHF-VHF Transponder working in ham radio frequency to enable voice and data transmission for amateur radio operators, a solid state PIN diode-based Radiation counter to measure the ionizing radiation in its orbit, a long-range transponder and a selfie camera. The ground system developed by 'Space Kidz India' will be utilized for receiving the data from this satellite.

SSLV: ISRO's new launch vehicle at Glance

SSLV is a ready-to-transfer vehicle with modular and unified systems and with standard interfaces for end-to-end industrial production.

The features of SSLV that enable the above include:

Booster motor segment with open joint configuration to minimise segment assembly and launch integration time.
Direct initiation of Pyro systems with simplified Pyro circuit.
Separation system / hardware with modular feature for ease of production and minimum turnaround time.
Unified interstage joint configuration to enable quick integration and launch. Multi Satellite accommodation with Multi Satellite Adaptor (MSA) deck.
Miniaturised low cost avionics systems with industrial COTS Components.
Low-cost NaviC integrated Inertial Navigation system with control class MEMS sensor enabling aided navigation throughout flight regime. Digital control system with fully indigenous Electro mechanical actuators.
Onboard checkout computer with simple and rapidly reconfigurable checkout system with minimum ground interfaces.