The PROBA-3 mission, an In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) mission led by the European Space Agency (ESA), is designed to test and demonstrate advanced space technologies using the mission’s satellites.
ISRO has announced that the PSLV-C59/PROBA-3 mission will launch on December 4, 2024, at 4:06 p.m. from Sriharikota. This mission will be the 61st flight of the PSLV and the 26th using the PSLV-XL configuration, carrying ESA’s PROBA-3 satellites weighing approximately 550 kg into a highly elliptical orbit. The primary objective of the mission is to demonstrate precise formation flying, with two spacecraft — the Coronagraph Spacecraft (CSC) and the Occulter Spacecraft (OSC) — being launched together in a stacked configuration.
The PSLV, India’s first launch vehicle with liquid stages, has been in service since its first successful flight in October 1994. The PSLV-C59 will feature four stages and will lift a total mass of around 320 tonnes. This mission also highlights the trusted precision of the PSLV and the collaboration between NSIL (NewSpace India Limited), ISRO, and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The PROBA-3 mission is recognized as the world’s first precision formation flying mission and aims to study the solar corona, the outermost and hottest layer of the Sun’s atmosphere. Additionally, it will conduct research on X-ray emissions from celestial sources using the Xray Polarimeter Satellite (XPOSAT), which is India’s first dedicated scientific satellite for space-based polarization measurements.
The most recent PSLV mission, PSLV-C58, launched the XPOSAT satellite into an Eastward low inclination orbit on January 1, 2024.
