India’s first commercial launch — PSLV-C8
With ISRO’s successful launch vehicle PSLV-C8, India has entered the global launcher market. The placing of 352-kg Italian astronomical satellite AGILE into a 550 km circular orbit around 22 minutes after lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre was done on 23 April.
As a part of a launch, the Italian Space agency will pay $11 million (Rs45 crore) to Isro.
Though it’s India’s first commercial launch but it is an addition to PSLV profile as it is the 10th successful launch.
After US, Russia, China and Ariane Space (France); now we have India as a fift country to step-in the launch market.
The vehicle also carried ISRO’s 185-kg Advaced Avionics Module (AMM), an important payload to flight-test advanced avionics such as mission computers, navigation.
The marketing for competion of the project was done by Antrix Corporation, commercial arm of the Department of Space, Government of India. The AGILE is a X-ray and gamma ray astronomical satellite of the Italian Space Agency.