Taiwanese researchers are first to participate in an ISRO satellite launch mission

India's space research organisation, or ISRO, launched a satellite jointly created by a team of international researchers, including one from Taiwan, on Monday, marking a first. Scientists from universities in the United States, Taiwan, India, and Singapore collaborated on the INSPIRESat-1 satellite.

The universities are the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado, the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Taiwan's National Central University (NCU), and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. The International Research and Teaching Satellite Project satellite one is known as INSPIRESat-1.

ISRO in a statement said Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C52 "placed two small satellites a student satellite (INSPIREsat-1) from Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology (IIST) in association with Laboratory of Atmospheric & Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder and a technology demonstrator satellite (INS-2TD) from ISRO, which is a precursor to India-Bhutan Joint Satellite (INS-2B). Co-passenger satellites were successfully separated from the PSLV in a predetermined sequence."

The satellite will collect data on the Sun's corona and its effects on the ionosphere on Earth. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C52 mission successfully launched an Earth observation satellite as well as two other satellites. PSLV launched at 05:59 IST from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, carrying Earth Observation Satellite EOS-04, which will provide high-quality images in all weather conditions for applications such as agriculture, forestry, and plantations, soil moisture and hydrology, and flood mapping.

India has established itself as a significant global hub for low-cost satellite launches. The Indian Prime Minister complimented the country on its progress. He remarked in a tweet, "Congratulations to our space scientists on the successful launch of the PSLV C52 mission. EOS-04 satellite will provide high-resolution images under all weather conditions."

Surprisingly, the news comes on the same day that India announced the banning of several Chinese apps. The app restriction is part of a growing backlash against China-backed technology, which some fear may be used to spy on people. India enacted similar app bans in the aftermath of the 2020 Galwan incident, in which India lost 20 soldiers owing to aggressive Chinese operations.