Planet, an integrated aerospace and data analytics company, announced today that four of Planet's Dove spacecraft will be launched aboard the forthcoming PSLV-C40 flight, scheduled to fly in early January 2018.
The announcement was made in the backdrop of the eighth annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad, India on 28-30 November, 2017. The primary payload for this mission is a Cartosat-2 Series satellite; Planet's four satellites will ride as secondary payloads in this mission.
This is the third time in less than 24 months that Planet will launch from India on a PSLV rocket. In February 2017, 88 Planet Dove satellites, the largest satellite constellation ever to reach orbit, travelled on the PSLV-C37 as part of ISRO's record-breaking launch of 104 satellites.
The four Dove satellites on this launch are tech demos responsible for testing improvements to several of the satellite subsystems, including the camera technology, thermal control, and altitude determination and control system. Planet launches tech demo satellites several times a year to ensure they are using the latest and most advanced technology. These advancements are then incorporated into future operational fleets.
"We've been very pleased with our working relationship with Antrix Corporation Limited (Antrix), the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). When Planet proposed to send a record-breaking 88 satellites to orbit on a single launch, they accepted the challenge without hesitation, and they delivered," said Karthik Govindhasamy, CTO and EVP of Engineering at Planet. "We're excited to be back in India working with their team and look forward to a successful launch."
"We have a rich history with Planet and we are proud to be a reliable launch partner that they can count on for consistent and timely launches," said Rakesh S, Chairman and Managing Director, Antrix Corporation Limited. "Planet's appetite for launch capacity is impressive and we're excited that the PSLV continues to meet their needs.