Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3) was India’s first experimental satellite launch vehicle by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which was an all solid, four-stage vehicle weighing 17 tonnes with a height of 22m and capable of placing 40 kg class payloads in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
List of SLV Launches
| S.no | Title | Launch Date | Details |
| 1 | SLV-3E1 | Aug 10, 1979 | The first experimental flight of SLV-3, carrying Rohini Technology Payload on August 10, 1979, was only partially successful. Mission marked as Unsuccessful. (Failure) |
| 2 | SLV-3E2 | Jul 18, 1980 | Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3E2), India’s first experimental satellite launch vehicle was successfully launched on July 18, 1980, from SHAR Centre Sriharikota, when Rohini satellite, RS-1, was placed in orbit. SLV-3 was a 22 m long, all solid, four-stage vehicle weighing 17 tonnes capable of placing 40 kg class payloads in low earth orbit. (Success) |
| 3 | SLV-3D1 | May 31, 1981 | SLV-3D1 was the developmental flight carrying Rohini Satellite RS-D1 was successfully launched on May 31, 1981. RS-D1 was a 38 kg experimental spin-stabilized satellite designed with a power handling capability of 16W. The launch was a partial success as the satellite did not reach the intended height and thus it stayed in orbit for only 9 days. The satellite carried a solid-state camera using a linear array of detectors for remote sensing applications. (Partial failure) |
| 4 | SLV-3 | Apr 17, 1983 | SLV-3 was the developmental flight carrying Rohini Satellite RS-D2 was successfully launched on April 17, 1983. RS-D2 was a 41.5 kg experimental spin-stabilized satellite designed with a power handling capability of 16W. The Smart Sensor Camera was the primary payload onboard the satellite. It has sent more than 5000 pictures frames in both visible and infra-red bands for identification of features and demonstrated the technique of determination of attitude and orbit using images. The camera had the onboard processing capability to use the data for classifying ground features like water, vegetation, bare land, clouds, and snow. (Success) |
Subscribe and follow me on twitter @SulthanPhD.