India’s EMISAT satellite and 28 foreign nano satellites were successfully launched on April 1 onboard ISRO’s trusted workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

PSLV-C45 injected the 436-kg EMISAT - aimed at electromagnetic spectrum measurement - and 28 co-passenger satellites from Lithuania (2), Spain (1), Switzerland (1) and the US (24) into their designated orbits.

The rocket lifted off in a burst of orange flames at 9.27 am from the second launch pad at the end of the 27-hour countdown.

ISRO chief K. Sivan and other scientists broke into cheers as EMISAT was injected into the 749-km orbit, 17 minutes after liftoff.

All the 28 customer satellites, totally weighing about 220 kg, were released into the 504-km orbit, after the fourth stage was reignited and lowered in a complex operation lasting around two hours.

The fourth stage would be reignited and further lowered to a 485-km orbit to serve as an orbital platform for carrying out space-borne experiments for the first time in ISRO’s history.

The fourth stage hosts three payloads.

They are automatic identification system from ISRO for maritime satellite applications capturing messages transmitted from ships.

Automatic Packet Repeating System from AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) to assist amateur radio operators in tracking and monitoring position data.

Advanced Retarding Potential Analyser for lonospheric Studies from Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology for the structural and composition studies of ionosphere.

According to ISRO, a new variant of the PSLV-QL equipped with four strap-on motors in the first stage was used for the launch.

The PSLV - also used in India’s two key missions Chandrayan in 2008 and Mars Orbiter in 2013 - is a reliable and versatile launch vehicle with 39 consecutive successful flights till June 2017 and five in a row since January 2018.

The rocket has encountered only two failures so far. Its maiden developmental flight ended unsuccessful way back in 1993. In September 2017, the flight went off without any hitch, but the IRNSS-1H satellite could not be released into orbit after the PSLV-C39’s heat shield failed to open on reaching the orbit.