This is a year of exciting missions, says ISRO chief
BENGALURU: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that the next year is packed with several “exciting” missions. Another PSLV mission is in the pipeline, along with a Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) mission and a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) coming up later this year, Chairman S Somanath said on Sunday.
the launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space
Centre in Sriharikota on Sunday | PTI
He was speaking to the press after the successful launch of PSLV-C56 carrying DS-SAR as the primary satellite, along with six co-passengers launched on Sunday from the launch pad of Sriharikota at 6:30 am.
“We will be launching another PSLV mission by August or early September. In the future, PSLVs will be industrialised and owned by different industries,” Somanath announced.
He added that Gaganyaan’s test vehicle is currently being integrated for an ambitious human spaceflight with three crew members, who will be in space for three days. The SSLV mission is in its third developmental mission and the GSLV mission for launching INSAT-3DS is also in progress. “This year we are packed with activities,” the space agency chairman added.
‘Singapore plans more missions with ISRO’
The PSLV-C56 mission is ISRO’s fourth dedicated launch on a commercial basis and is expecting more
opportunities in the near future.
All about PSLV
“The PSLV fourth stage, which is currently in the orbit of the satellite at 535km, launched at a 5-degree inclination, will be brought back to a lower orbit of 300km with an intent to have a lower lifespan spent in space,” the ISRO chairman added. This is being done with the agenda to reduce space debris by making “conscious efforts” and will be done in a controlled manner, said Somanath.
The DS-SAR satellite is developed under a partnership between DSTA (representing the Government of Singapore) and ST Engineering and will be used to support the satellite imagery requirements of various agencies within the Government of Singapore.
ST Engineering will use it for multimodal and higher responsiveness imagery and geospatial services for their commercial customers. ISRO also announced that the Government of Singapore plans to have many more missions with the space agency in future.