ISRO’s Next PSLV Launch Likely in November, to Carry Kleos Space’s Satellites

Kleos Space, a Luxembourg-based company that provides radio frequency reconnaissance data-as-a-service (DaaS), on Monday said that the four-satellite Kleos Scouting Mission will be launched onboard a PSLV in the first half of November 2020.

In a release, the company said the satellites would be launched in Isro’s PSLV-C49 mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

The company is launching the scouting satellites under a rideshare contract with US-based Spaceflight Inc, with the launch managed by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of Isro.

The release further said the four Kleos Scouting Mission satellites have been mission-ready since the middle of 2019. They were shipped to the launch site during February 2020, anticipating the launch during March 2020. But due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic situation, there has been a delay in the launch.

NSIL via Spaceflight Inc has informed the company that the launch of the four Kleos satellites planned on-board PSLV-C49 mission is being targeted during the first half of November 2020, based on the current status of planning of activities, it said.

This schedule is subject to change due to operational circumstances beyond NSIL control.

NSIL via Spaceflight Inc will confirm the exact launch date once the activities at the launch base progresses successfully

Source: ToI