Wed Dec 04 13:10:22 UTC 2024: ## ISRO to Launch ESA’s PROBA-3 Solar Mission on December 4th
**Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India** – The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch the European Space Agency’s (ESA) PROBA-3 mission on December 4th, 2024, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. This mission marks a significant collaboration between ISRO and ESA, focusing on the study of the sun’s outer atmosphere, the solar corona.
The launch will utilize ISRO’s powerful PSLV-XL rocket, the most powerful of its five PSLV variants. This rocket, carrying two ESA satellites – the Coronagraph spacecraft (CSC) and the Occulter spacecraft (OSC) – weighing approximately 550 kg, will deploy them into a unique, highly elliptical orbit. The satellites will be launched in a “stacked configuration,” meaning one on top of the other. The launch is scheduled for 4:06 PM IST.
This mission represents a world-first in coordinated satellite deployment for solar observation. The PROBA-3 satellites will work in tandem to precisely block the sun’s bright disk, allowing for detailed study of the solar corona, which is typically obscured by the sun’s glare. The countdown began on Tuesday afternoon. The mission is led by New Space India Limited (NSIL) and executed by ISRO, highlighting India’s growing role in global space exploration.
First Piper 