ISRO's recoverable capsule returns safely

After 11 days in space, Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) recoverable satellite returned to the earth and splashed down in the Bay of Bengal this morning as planned.

As part of the mission, ISRO's workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) had put Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE) satellite into space alongwith three others on January 10, space agency sources said.

The capsule splased down around 9.30 am, ISRO sources said, adding efforts were being made to recover it. "The capsule has splashed down. The Coast Guard has located the area".

The 550-kg SRE, that would help ISRO hone its skills in re-entry, recoverable and re-usable technologies, had two payloads to conduct experiments in micro-gravity.

PSLV-C7 had injected India's Cartosat-2, apart from SRE satellite, and two others from overseas - LAPAN-TUBSAT, a joint venture of Indonesia and the Technical University of Berlin, and the Pehuensat-1 of Argentina.