Thu Dec 05 11:31:16 UTC 2024: ## ISRO Launches European Space Agency’s PROBA-3 Mission
**Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh:** The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the PSLV-C59 rocket carrying the European Space Agency’s (ESA) PROBA-3 mission on Thursday at 4:04 PM IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The launch, initially scheduled for Wednesday, was delayed due to technical issues.
PROBA-3 is an in-orbit demonstration (IOD) mission designed to study the Sun’s corona, its outermost and hottest atmospheric layer. This is ESA’s first launch for them since 2001. The mission comprises two satellites, the Occulter (200 kg) and the Coronagraph (340 kg), which will work together to create an artificial solar eclipse, enabling detailed observation of the corona. The satellites will be placed in an elliptical orbit ranging from 600 km to 60,530 km above Earth.
The approximately ₹1680 crore mission, with a planned duration of two years, marks a continuation of the PROBA program, following PROBA-1 (2001) and PROBA-2 (2009). ISRO’s PSLV-C59 successfully deployed the 550 kg payload into its designated orbit.
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