U.S. Cubesats Boosted To Orbit On Indian Launch Vehicle

A small satellite launch company in India has boosted a flock of 12 Planet Dove satellites from India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The 12 spacecraft are shoebox-sized satellites that will be delivered into lower Earth orbit to provide imaging data.

“CubeSats like the Dove continue to push the boundaries of what commercial small satellite technology looks like today,” said Curt Blake, president of Spaceflight. “Coupling them with our integrated launch services and the PSLV rocket, which continues to be one of the most routine and reliable avenues for us to launch our customers’ satellites, makes it easier and more affordable for organizations like Planet to execute their space missions.”

Spaceflight previously arranged for the launch of Planet’s Dove 1 and Dove 2 satellites in April 2013, as well as its first flock of satellites from the International Space Station in January 2014 with partner NanoRacks. Spaceflight then arranged for the launch of 11 more Dove satellites, known as Flock 1c, from the Dnepr launch vehicle through partner Innovative Solutions in Space.

“This is a very exciting day for us,” commented Mike Safyan, director of launch and regulatory affairs at Planet. “Adding 12 satellites with the latest technologies to our fleet operating in Sun Synchronous Orbit will significantly increase our capacity for imagery collection.”

Spaceflight has negotiated the launch of 81 satellites on behalf of its customers and has contracts to deploy more than 150 satellites through 2018. The company plans to coordinate its largest launch to date – 89 spacecraft – to be deployed by Spaceflight’s Sherpa tug from a SpaceX Falcon 9 later this year.

(Image provided with Spaceflight news release)

FMI: www.spaceflight.com