31 satellites to be launched in India on Jan 10
Bengaluru: India will launch 31 satellites, including the earth observation spacecraft Cartosat on January 10, from its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, said a space official on Saturday.
"We have tentatively scheduled the rocket launch at 9.30 a.m. to carry Cartosat and other satellites, including 28 from the US and five other countries in a single mission," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Director Devi Prasad Karnik told IANS here.
The first space mission in 2018 onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C40) comes four months after a similar rocket failed to deliver the country's eighth navigation satellite in the earth's lower orbit on August 31.
"The sixth Cartosat in 2A series and other satellites are being integrated with the rocket at the spaceport. The mission launch board will decide the rocket's lift-off time for the reverse countdown two days ahead," said Karnik.
The mission's payload will also include one each nano and micro satellite from India, besides Cartosat-2.
As an observational satellite, Cartosat will beam high-quality images for cartographic, urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation and utility management like road network monitoring.
The previous satellite in the Cartosat-2 series was launched on February 15, from the spaceport on the east coast, about 90km northeast of Chennai
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3.7 magnitude tremor hits Kutch in Gujarat; no casualty
Ahmedabad (PTI): A tremor of 3.7 magnitude jolted Gujarat's Kutch district on Monday morning, the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said.
There was no report of any casualty or damage to property, the district administration said.
The tremor was recorded at 10.44 am with its epicentre 76 kilometres north-north east of Lakhpat, the Gandhinagar-based ISR said.
This is the second seismic activity of more than 3 magnitude this month in the district.
On December 7, a tremor of 3.2 magnitude was recorded in the district, according to the ISR.
Last month, Kutch recorded an earthquake of 4 magnitude on November 18.
Earlier, on November 15, Patan in north Gujarat was jolted by an earthquake of 4.2 magnitude, as per the ISR data.
Gujarat is a high earthquake-risk area.
It suffered nine major earthquakes in the past 200 years, according to data of the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA).
The earthquake in Kutch on January 26, 2001 was the third largest and second most destructive in India over the last two centuries, according to the GSDMA.
A large number of towns and villages in the district had suffered almost complete destruction in the earthquake, which killed nearly 13,800 persons and left 1.67 lakh others injured.
