The Indian Space Research Organisation is all set to launch its first-ever solar mission on Saturday at 11:50 am IST from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
PSLV-C57 is the PSLV-XL (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) variant. With this mission, PSLV-XL will mark its 25th flight.
The PSLV-XL is the ‘full configuration’ PSLV, fitted with six strap-on motors, the maximum for this expendable launch vehicle.
The XL configuration was first used for launching India’s first lunar probe, the Chandrayaan-1, in October 2008. It has since been used for several high-profile missions, including the Mars Orbiter Mission – Mangalyaan, launched in November 2013.
PSLV flew in the XL configuration last in November 2022, placing the EOS-06 satellite, the main payload, and eight nano-satellites in orbit around the earth.
The answer is no. Due to the limited mass, power and volume of the spacecraft that carries the payloads, only a limited set of instruments can be sent on-board to study the Sun.
Then there is also the CA (core alone) version where no strap-on motors are used. The previous two PSLV missions, the PSLV-C55 and PSLV-C56 which placed the TeLEOS-2 and DS-SAR satellites in orbit respectively in April and July this year, had used the CA variant.