The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday announced that it will transfer its Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) to the private sector amid growing demand for small satellites. Photos: PTI/ANI
The SSLV, which has had two development flights, seeks to provide on-demand services to put satellites weighing up to 500 kg in a low-earth orbit.
"We have built our own SSLV which will be transferred to the industry and produced in large numbers to meet the growing demand," ISRO chairman S Somanath said at the inauguration ceremony of the India Space Congress organised by SIA India.
The space agency has decided to opt for the bidding route to transfer the mini-rocket to the industry, a senior official said. The SSLV is the sixth launch vehicle developed by ISRO and has undergone two development flights in August last year and in February this year.
The maiden flight of the SSLV in August last year was a failure due to vibration disturbance for a short duration on the Equipment Bay deck during the second-stage separation.
The SSLV injected the ISRO's EOS-07 satellite, US-based firm Antaris' Janus-1 and Chennai-based space start-up Space Kidz's AzaadiSAT-2 satellites into a 450-km circular orbit.
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