India launches military satellite plus 28 smallsats
Week Four: Ninth Anniversary Fund-Raising Drive for Behind the Black
The fourth week of my annual anniversary fund-raising campaign for Behind the Black has begun.
I once again must thank the many readers and listeners who have generously donated this month. Right now there is a chance this will be the best fund-raiser ever, though only if a lot of people donate during the month's last ten days.
If you want to help me continue my reporting, you can give a one-time contribution, from $5 to $100, or a regular subscription for as little as $2 per month.
For one time donations via Paypal, click here:
If Paypal doesn't work for you, you can still support Behind The Black by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
Capitalism in space: India today successfully used its PSLV rocket to launch one Indian military satellite plus 28 smallsats.
The rocket’s fourth stage demonstrated an additional capability.
Monday’s launch, the second of the year for India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), was tasked with a series of maneuvers for the rocket’s upper stage to insert twenty-nine deployable payloads into their pre-planned orbits over the first two hours of its flight.
Following separation of the last payload, the upper stage will maneuver to a final orbit where it will operate as a research platform, hosting three attached payloads to demonstrate this capability for future missions. The launch also tests out a new configuration for the PSLV, a further intermediate between the lightest and heaviest versions of the rocket.
UPDATE: Yesterday China also launched a communications satellite designed to facilitate in-space communications, using its Long March 3B rocket.
The leaders in the 2019 launch race:
4 China
3 SpaceX
3 Europe (Arianespace)
2 Russia
2 India
The U.S. continues to lead China in the national rankings 6 to 4.
The fourth week of my annual anniversary fund-raising campaign for Behind the Black has begun.
I once again must thank the many readers and listeners who have generously donated this month. Right now there is a chance this will be the best fund-raiser ever, though only if a lot of people donate during the month's last ten days. If you want to help me continue my reporting, you can give a one-time contribution, from $5 to $100, or a regular subscription for as little as $2 per month.
For one time donations via Paypal, click here:
If Paypal doesn't work for you, you can still support Behind The Black by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
Capitalism in space: India today successfully used its PSLV rocket to launch one Indian military satellite plus 28 smallsats.
The rocket’s fourth stage demonstrated an additional capability.
Monday’s launch, the second of the year for India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), was tasked with a series of maneuvers for the rocket’s upper stage to insert twenty-nine deployable payloads into their pre-planned orbits over the first two hours of its flight.
Following separation of the last payload, the upper stage will maneuver to a final orbit where it will operate as a research platform, hosting three attached payloads to demonstrate this capability for future missions. The launch also tests out a new configuration for the PSLV, a further intermediate between the lightest and heaviest versions of the rocket.
UPDATE: Yesterday China also launched a communications satellite designed to facilitate in-space communications, using its Long March 3B rocket.
The leaders in the 2019 launch race:
4 China
3 SpaceX
3 Europe (Arianespace)
2 Russia
2 India
The U.S. continues to lead China in the national rankings 6 to 4.
