ISRO Announces Launch of PSLV-C59/PROBA-3 Mission Set for December 4

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has officially revealed that the upcoming PSLV-C59/PROBA-3 mission is slated for launch on December 4 at 4:06 p.m. This event will occur at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre located in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. During this mission, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C59 is expected to carry around 550 kilograms of satellites into a highly elliptical orbit.

The PROBA-3 mission, coordinated by the European Space Agency, serves as an In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) project. In a statement posted on social media, ISRO described the PSLV-C59/PROBA-3 mission as consisting of the 61st flight of the PSLV and the 26th flight using the PSLV-XL configuration, emphasizing the mission's objective to demonstrate precise formation flying.

the Coronagraph Spacecraft (CSC) and the Occulter Spacecraft (OSC), which will be launched in a stacked configuration, meaning one will be atop the other. The PSLV is a versatile launch vehicle capable of carrying various payloads into space and was the first Indian vehicle to utilize liquid stages, with its first successful launch occurring in October 1994.

ISRO's PSLV-C59 will launch in four stages, lifting a total mass of approximately 320 tonnes. Additionally, the mission showcases the reliability of the PSLV and collaborative efforts involving ISRO, ESA, and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL). The previous PSLV mission, PSLV-C58, took place on January 1, 2024, successfully deploying the XPOSAT satellite.

Proba-3 aims to achieve the distinction of being the world's first mission dedicated to precision formation flying, with a focus on studying the solar corona, the sun's outermost atmospheric layer. The mission will also contribute scientific research through the Xray Polarimeter Satellite, marking ISRO's first dedicated undertaking for space-based X-ray emission polarization measurements from celestial bodies.