ISRO’s PSLV-C55 mission was launched on Saturday and marked the space agency’s third major launch of the year. The PSLV-C55 lifted off and entered a low inclination orbit in the eastward direction. This was the 57th flight for the 228-ton PSLV, which has established itself as a reliable and cost-effective option for satellite launches.

The two satellites on board were developed for the Singaporean government and weighed a combined 757 kilograms. The primary payload was TeLEOS-2, which is a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that can provide all-weather, day and night coverage with 1-meter full-polarimetric resolution imaging.

In addition to the two customer satellites, the mission also included the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM). This is a repurposed fourth stage of the rocket that ISRO has developed as an experimental platform for conducting tests with payloads that cannot be separated.