EOS-02 (Microsat-2A) | SSLV

Featured image credit: ISRO

Lift Off Time	August 07, 2022 – 03:48 UTC | 09:18 IST
Mission Name	EOS-02
Launch Provider (What rocket company is launched it?)	New Space India Limited (NSIL)
Customer (Who paid for this?)	ISRO
Rocket	India’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)
Launch Location	First Launch Pad, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Republic of India
Payload mass	~153kg (~337 lb)
Where did the satellites go?	They re-entered Earth’s atmosphere about 60 minutes after launch over the Pacific Ocean
Did they attempt to recover the first stage?	No, this is not a capability of the SSLV
Where did the first stage land?	It crashed into the Indian Ocean
Did they attempt to recover the fairings?	No, this is not a capability of the SSLV
Were these fairings new?	Yes
This will be the:	– 1st flight of India’s SSLV – 80th launch from the Sriharikota location – 3rd ISRO launch of 2022 – 96th orbital launch attempt of 2022 – 4th failure of any orbital class rocket in 2022
Where to re-watch	Official livestream

How Did It Go?

ISRO conducted the first flight of their new small satellite launch vehicle, SSLV. The payload for this test flight was EOS-02, also known as Microsat-2A, and AzaadiSAT, an 8U CubeSat. Both payloads were lost as the rocket failed to reach orbit. While the first three solid fuel stages performed nominally, the final stage called Velocity Trimming Module or VTM failed to fire resulting in the third stage, the VTM, and the two payloads being stranded in a 76 km x 356 km orbit compared to a planned 356.2 km circular orbit at 37.21° inclination. As the orbit’s perigee was still inside Earth’s atmosphere, all four objects re-entered at around 04:43 UTC in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Central America.

ISRO believes that they have already isolated the problem and are confident that the next launch of SSLV will be fully successful. The full statement of ISRO’s chairman can be watched here.

EOS-02

SSLV’s first mission is called EOS-02, which is also the name of its primary payload, the EOS-02 satellite. Also on board of the VTM was AzaadiSat, an 8U CubeSat.

EOS-02 Satellite

EOS-02, or Earth Observation Satellite 2, was an experimental remote sensing satellite based on the IMS-1 satellite bus measuring 55.2x60x60 cm and weighing about 145 kg. The satellite features the imaging system on top of the top deck with a metallic primary mirror as well as two deployable solar arrays providing 350 W of power.

EOS-02 carried two different sensors for mid-wavelength and for long-wavelength infrared with a resolution of six meters. The primary mission objective was gathering data for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications, such as cartography, regulation of use of coastal land, urban and rural management, and many more.

AzaadiSAT

Hitching a ride was AzaadiSAT, an 8U CubeSat weighing about 8 kg. Built by girl students from 75 schools across India, the satellite is part of India’s celebration of its 75 years of independence. As such, it was also carrying 75 little payloads each weighing about 50 g.

SSLV-D1/EOS-02 Mission Timeline*

Time (MM:SS)	Events
T-0	Stage One Ignition
T+02:07.1	Stage Two Ignition
T+02:07.5	Stage One Separation
T+02:12.5	S2C Separation
T+02:41.5	SPLF Separation
T+05:36.9	Stage Two Separation
T+05:42.2	Stage Three Ignition
T+10:33.3	Stage Three Separation
T+10:42.0	VTM Ignition-1
T+12:22.0	EOS-02 Separation
T+13:12.0	AzaadiSat Separation

What Is The SSLV?

The SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle) is a 3-stage orbital rocket for small payloads up to 500 kg. Each stage uses solid motor propulsion and is designed with “launch on demand” services very much in mind.

Vehicle Length	34 m
Payload Fairing	2.1 m diameter
Lift-Off Mass	120 t

The SSLV program claims to have the capability to launch 6 to 8 missions per year once it’s operational.

	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Velocity Trimming Module (VTM)
Length (m)	22.5	3.2	2.8	–
Diameter (m)	2	2	1.7	2
Propellant	HTPB based solid fuel	HTPB based solid fuel	HTPB based solid fuel	MMH and MON3
Propellant Mass (t)	87	7.7	4.5	0.05
Run Time (s)	117	121	112	–

NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) is a Government of India company. It operates under the Department of Space and the Commercial Arm of ISRO. NSIL will be the sole lead agency for handling end-to-end SSLV launch services for all customer satellites.

Benefits of the SSLV program are claimed to include:

• Launch on demand
• Lower per-kg launch cost
• Reduced turnaround time
• Increased production rate from industrial partners
• Multiple options for mounting small satellites