Microsat-R, along with KalamsatV2 as piggy-back, was launched on 24 January 2019[6] at 23:37 hrs from First Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The launch marks the 46th flight of PSLV.[7] After 13 minutes 26 seconds in flight, Microsat-R was injected at targeted altitude of about 277.2 km. This was the first flight of a new variant of PSLV called PSLV-DL with two strap-ons, each carrying 12.2-tonne of solid propellant.[8]
Anti-satellite test
Microsat-R served as target for Indian ASAT experiment on March 27, 2019.[9][10][11] The impact generated more than 400 pieces of orbital debris with 24 having apogee higher than ISS orbit.[12][13] According to initial assessment by DRDO some of the debris (depending on size and trajectory) should re-enter in 45 days.[14] A spokesperson from NASA disagreed, saying the debris could last for years because the solar minimum had contracted the atmosphere that would otherwise cause the debris to reenter.[15] Analysis from a leading space trajectory and environment simulation company AGI has also came to same conclusion that few debris fragments will take more than a year to come down and other debris fragments might pose a risk to other satellites and ISS and these results were also presented in the 35th Space Symposium at Colorado Springs.[16]
As of March 2022, only one catalogued piece of debris from Microsat-R remained in orbit: COSPAR 2019-006DE, SATCAT 44383. This final piece decayed from orbit 14 June 2022.
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
