NEW DELHI – The Indian Space Research Organization successfully launched its new rocket, the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2), and put three satellites into orbit on Friday.
The 34-meter tall SSLV-D2 weighing 120 tons took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, off the Bay of Bengal coast located in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh at about 9:18 a.m. local time. It placed the three satellites into a 450 km circular orbit around the earth during its 15-minute flight.
The first test flight of the rocket on Aug. 7 last year ended in partial failure as it failed to inject its satellite payload into the intended orbits.