New Delhi: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is the third generation launch vehicle of India. It is the first Indian launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages.


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After its first successful launch in October 1994, PSLV emerged as the reliable and versatile workhorse launch vehicle of India with 39 consecutively successful missions by June 2017.


During 1994-2017 period, the vehicle has launched 48 Indian satellites and 209 satellites for customers from abroad.


Besides, the vehicle successfully launched two spacecraft – Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in 2013 – that later traveled to Moon and Mars respectively


PSLV is all geared up today to launch the IRNSS-1H satellite.


Here are some interesting facts about ISRO's workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, commonly known by its abbreviation PSLV:


  • The PSLV is an expendable launch system developed and operated by the ISRO.
  • PSLV made its first flight on September 20, 1993, but the mission failed early into flight.
  • It has been in service for over 20 years and has launched over 40 satellites for 19 countries.
  • Some notable payloads launched by PSLV include India's first lunar probe Chandrayaan-1, India's first interplanetary mission Mangalyaan (Mars orbiter) and India's first space observatory, Astrosat.
  • In the year 2015 alone, ISRO successfully launched 17 foreign satellites belonging to Canada, Indonesia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.
  • PSLV can take up to 1,750 kg of payload to Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbits of 600 km altitude.
  • Due to its unmatched reliability, PSLV has also been used to launch various satellites into Geosynchronous and Geostationary orbits, like satellites from the IRNSS constellation.
  • In order to cater to different mission requirements, ISRO has envisaged a number of variants of PSLV. Currently, there are three operational versions of the PSLV - the standard (PSLV-G), the core-alone (PSLV-CA) without the six strap-on booster motors, and the (PSLV-XL) version, which carries more solid fuel in its strap-on motors than the standard version.