India’s space programme achieved a milestone on January 10, 2007. The Indian Space Research Organisation’s PSLV rocket carried three satellites and a recoverable space capsule into space at 9.24 am. In its tenth flight, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) will put India’s remote sensing satellite CARTOSAT-2 and an experimental recoverable space capsule, Indonesia’s LAPAN-TUBSAT and Argentina’s nanosatellite PEHUENSAT-1. The PSLV series was initially designed to place India’s remote sensing satellites in 900-km orbits. Down the years capacity of PSLVs have been enhanced and the latest version — PSLV C-7 — is now able to carry a payload of up to 1,600 kg. In it’s most recent flight in May 2005 it carried a payload of 1,602 kg.
