by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

There were 27 orbital launch attempts with 26 successes and one failure during the first quarter of 2021. The United States accounted for nearly half the total with 13 launches behind nine flights by SpaceX.

SRIHARIKOTA, India (ISRO PR) — India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C51 successfully launched Amazonia-1 along with 18 co-passenger satellites today (February 28, 2021) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.

SRIHARIKOTA, India (ISRO PR) — PSLV-C51, which is the 53rd mission of PSLV, will launch Amazonia-1 of Brazil as primary satellite and 18 Co-passenger satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. The launch is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 28 at 1024 IST [0454 UTC/11:54 p.m. on Feb. 27], subject to weather conditions.

Watch live from 0950 IST [0420 UTC/11:20 p.m. on Feb. 27] onwards here.

The launch service provider purchased an entire PSLV from NSIL to support the launch of Brazil’s first Earth observation satellite

SEATTLE, February 17, 2021 (Spaceflight Inc. PR) — Spaceflight Inc., the global launch services provider, today revealed details about the upcoming launch of its largest customer satellite launch to date, the Amazonia-1 spacecraft. To accommodate the nearly 700-kilogram satellite, Spaceflight purchased an entire NewSpace India Limited’s (NSIL) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The mission, named PSLV-C51/ Amazonia-1, is targeted for launch at the end of February from Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota (SDSC, SHAR), India.  

The spacecraft was produced by INPE, the National Institute for Space Research (in Portuguese: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais), Brazil’s leading entity dedicated to space research and exploration and is the first Earth observation satellite to be completely designed, integrated, tested and operated in Brazil. Amazonia-1 will launch under a commercial arrangement with NSIL, an Indian government company under Department of Space (DOS) and the commercial arm of ISRO. 

Slated for mid-2020 aboard a PSLV rocket, Amazonia-1 represents the first Earth observation satellite based on the Brazilian Multi Mission Platform completely designed, integrated and operated by the country, and Spaceflight’s largest rideshare satellite to date

SEATTLE, WA – Dec. 18, 2018 — Spaceflight, the leading launch and mission management rideshare services provider, today announced it was awarded the contract to provide launch services for INPE, Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (in Portuguese: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais), the research unit of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications.

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