The Indian space agency launched its new SSLV rocket, but its two satellite payloads were placed into an incorrect orbit and have since been destroyed.
The Indian space agency ISRO has debuted a new satellite-deploying rocket, the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle or SSLV, with a launch from Sriharikota, India on Sunday, August 7 at 09:18 am local time. The rocket launched as planned and deployed two satellites, Earth observation satellite EOS-02 and CubeSat AzaadiSAT full of payloads built by students and schoolchildren. However, these satellites were placed into an incorrect orbit and have since been destroyed.
The SSLV rocket is designed to carry small satellites of up to 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) into low-Earth orbit, to serve both ISRO and commercial needs. This mission, named SSLV-D1, was the first launch of the rocket which has been in development since 2015.
