The second developmental flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), Sslv-D2 was successfully launched by Isro today on February 10, 2023, at 9:18 am from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.

It injected the Earth Observation Satellite Eos-07, Janus-1, and AzaadiSAT-2 satellites into a 450 km circular orbit, in its 15-minute flight.

The main objectives of Friday’s mission were the demonstration of the designed payload capability of SSLV in low earth orbit and the injection of the EOS-07 satellite, along with two passenger satellites Janus-1 and AzaadiSAT-2 into a 450 km circular orbit.

‘SSLV-D2/EOS-07 Mission is accomplished successfully. SSLV-D2 placed EOS-07, Janus-1, and AzaadiSAT-2 into their intended orbits,’ ISRO tweeted.

The AzaadiSAT-2 launch was particularly special, as ISRO chairman congratulated the 750 girl students, studying in government schools across the country who had assembled it in a short time.

The students worked on the satellite, developed by Chennai-based start-up Space Kidz India.

Space Kidz India is a 7-year-old aerospace start-up working in design, fabrication and launch of small satellites, spacecrafts and ground systems.

The primary payload on the maiden mission of the SSLV-D2 is the 156-kg-Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-02), an optical remote sensing satellite that will provide information about thermal anomalies in the field of geo-environmental studies, forestry, hydrology, agriculture, soil, and coastal studies. It includes a Millimeter-wave Humidity Sounder and the Spectrum Monitoring Payload

Janus-1, which was built by the Indian-American company Antaris, is a technology-demonstrating ‘smart satellite,’ according to the ISRO.

AzaadiSAT-2 ‘aims to demonstrate LoRa (long-range) and amateur radio communication capabilities, measure radiation levels in space and demonstrate expandable satellite structure, etc,’ ISRO officials wrote.

The SSLV is a three-stage vehicle with all solid propulsion that inserted the satellites into designated orbits using a liquid propulsion-based Velocity Trimming Module.

The launch was a win for ISRO and the SSLV mission, which is capable of carrying up to 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) of payload to low Earth orbit.

The rocket had earlier failed on its only other flight, which lifted off on Aug. 6, 2022.

The SSLV had run into trouble that day during the separation of its second stage, an action that created a brief but intense ‘vibration disturbance.’ The shaking briefly saturated all six accelerometers in the SSLV’s navigation system, which pushed the rocket into ‘salvage mode,’ ISRO officials explained in an update.

ISRO’s EOS-02 Earth-observation craft and the student-built AzaadiSAT cubesat were sent into the wrong orbit, they soon were dragged down into Earth’s atmosphere and lost.

ISRO officials said in last week’s update that they had implemented a number of measures to prevent this on future SSLV flights. The second-stage separation system was swapped out for a different one that’s known to produce less-intense vibrations, among the other fixes that resulted in success for the second flight.

ISRO said that the features which will make SSLV attractive to customers are low-cost, faster turnaround time, flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, launch on-demand feasibility, and minimal launch infrastructure required.