Launch of Chandrayaan-2 Mission Date Announced

Launch of Chandrayaan-2 Mission Announced

Chandrayaan-2, India's second mission to the Moon is a totally indigenous mission comprising of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover. After reaching the 100 km lunar orbit, the Lander housing the Rover will separate from the Orbiter. After a controlled descent, the Lander will soft land on the lunar surface at a specified site and deploy a Rover.

The mission will carry a six-wheeled Rover which will move around the landing site in semi-autonomous mode as decided by the ground commands. The instruments on the rover will observe the lunar surface and send back data, which will be useful for analysis of the lunar soil.

The Chandrayaan-2 weighing around 3290 kg and would orbit around the moon and perform the objectives of remote sensing the moon. The payloads will collect scientific information on lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, lunar exosphere and signatures of hydroxyl and water-ice.

GSLV-F10/Chandrayaan-2 Mission is planned during early 2019.

Isro successfully tests its heaviest space launch vehicle, GSLV - Mark III

BENGALURU: ISRO successfully tested on Thursday its most powerful satellite launch vehicle that can put heavier payloads into space, and, it hopes, win India a bigger slice of the $300 billion global space industry.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) also checked the working of an unmanned crew module on the vehicle, which could give the agency the option of manned missions.

Once operational, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III will be able to put satellites weighing about 4 tonnes into orbit, almost doubling India's current capability.

"The powerful launch vehicle ... will change our destiny in placing various spacecraft into communication orbits," said S Somnath, project director of the new GSLV vehicle.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to develop India's 50-year-old space programme and the government increased funding for space research by 50 percent to almost $1 billion this financial year.

But Isro's growth has been stymied by a lack of a heavier launcher and the slow execution of missions. Between 2007 and 2012, it accomplished only about half of its planned 60 missions, government data showed.

Experts said the test of the GSLV took India a step closer to attracting more foreign business which would help Asia's third-largest economy emerge as a stronger player in the global space race.

The experiment on Thursday also helped Isro test the vehicle's atmospheric stability and its design. It was powered by two engines while a third is under development.




"We still need to put a heavier third engine to ensure this vehicle can be used successfully for manned missions and heavier satellite launches," said Mayank Vahia, a scientist at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

In September, India's Mars Orbiter Mission entered the red planet's orbit, making India the first Asian nation to reach Mars on its first attempt. The mission was lauded for its shoestring budget of about $74 million.

First trajectory correction manoeuvre on Mars Orbiter successfully done by ISRO

The first flight Correction Man-oeuvre of India's maiden heavenly body mission to Mars was on Wednesday dispensed with success by Isro scientists on the satellite, that is presently traveling some a pair of.9 million kilometer removed from Earth.

"The initial flight Correction Man oeuvre (TCM) of satellite was dispensed with success at 06:30 hrs (IST) by firing the twenty two Newton Thrusters for a length of forty.5 seconds. The satellite is traveling at a distance of regarding twenty nine hundred thousand (2.9 million) kilometer removed from Earth," ISRO aforementioned during a statement.

The TCMs fine tune the flight of the satellite to stay it traveling within the meant track towards the superior planet.

Today's correction was dispensed by the pc on board the satellite, since the quantity of your time needed for the signal to travel and come back was regarding twenty seconds, as mum was already traveling regarding some a pair of.9 million kilometer away, ISRO said.

"MOM team is gaining active expertise in handling the communication delay because it keeps increasing step by step," it said.

The satellite had quarantined of the Earth’s orbit on December one. The Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) has planned four TCMs throughout its journey to Mars. The man-oeuvres area unit required to stay the satellite on the specified path. it's additionally essential for maintaining the specified speed.

"The eight thrusters on board are going to be laid-off exactly to steer the mum to Mars throughout the flight Manoeuvrings Correction (TMC). Our navigation team has currently got an exact understanding of the precise flight of mum supported the vary and speed information non-heritable over the many days since the Trans-Mars Injection (TMI). now's the time to eliminate the minor deviations within the flight," Isro aforementioned.

Mangalyaan is on its 680-million-km voyage to Mars. If it makes it, Asian nation can be a part of a pick club comprising the America, Russia and Europe. Once within the Mars orbit, the orbiter’s 5 payloads can then begin performing arts experiments for following six months.

Source: http://www.isro.org/

PSLV - C22/IRNSS – 1A Mission

PSLV - C22 successfully launches India's first navigational satellite IRNSS-1A on Jul 01, 2013

PSLV - C22 / IRNSS – 1A Mission:

• Orbit raising maneuvers completed with fifth Apogee Motor Firing (AMF) on July 06, 2013 at 16:57 hrs (IST) and performance is normal.
• Satellite is in Geo-Synchronous Orbit (GSO) with 27 deg inclination at 44 deg E longitude.
• Present orbital parameters are: apogee 35870 km, perigee 35484 km and orbital period is 23h 50m.
• All the spacecraft subsystem is evaluated and functioning normal.

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C22, successfully launched IRNSS-1A, the first satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), in the early morning hours of today (July 2, 2013) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. This is the twenty third consecutively successful mission of PSLV. The 'XL' configuration of PSLV was used for the mission. Previously, the same configuration of the vehicle was used thrice to launch Chandrayaan-1, GSAT-12 and RISAT-1 satellites.

At the completion of the countdown, PSLV-C22 lifted off from the First Launch Pad at 23:41 hrs IST yesterday (July 1, 2013) with the ignition of the first stage and four strap-on motors of the launch vehicle. The important flight events, namely, stage and strap-on ignitions, heat-shield separation, stage and strap-on separations and satellite injection took place exactly as planned. After a flight of 20 minutes 17 seconds, the IRNSS-1A Satellite, weighing 1425 kg, was injected to the intended elliptical orbit of 282.46 km X 20,625.37 km.

After injection, the solar panels of IRNSS-1A were deployed automatically. ISRO's Master Control Facility (at Hassan, Karnataka) assumed the control of the satellite. In the coming days, five orbit maneuvers will be conducted from Master Control Facility to position the satellite in its Geosynchronous Circular Orbit at 55 deg East longitude.

IRNSS-1A is the first of the seven satellites constituting the space segment of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS) - provided to all users - and Restricted Services (RS) provided only to authorised users.

A number of ground stations responsible for the generation and transmission of navigation parameters, satellite control, satellite ranging and monitoring, etc., have been established in as many as 15 locations across the country.

The entire IRNSS constellation of seven satellites is planned to be completed by 2015-16.

Source: ISRO

PSLV to Launch French Remote Sensing Satellite - SPOT - 6

A commercial Launch Services Agreement between Antrix Corporation Limited (ANTRIX), the commercial arm of ISRO; and ASTRIUM SAS, a Company under EADS, France; has been signed at recently. Under this agreement, an advanced Remote Sensing satellite - SPOT -6, weighing nearly 800 kg, built by ASTRIUM SAS, will be launched on-board ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), during the second half of 2012. Along with SPOT - 6 satellite, the PSLV, in its core alone configuration, will carry other co-passenger payloads.

This Launch Services Agreement signed between ANTRIX and ASTRIUM may be a part of the Long Term Agreement signed between the two agencies in September 2008.

It may be recalled that in November 2010, under a commercial contract between ANTRIX and ASTRIUM, an advanced communication satellite HYLAS was successfully build by ISRO and ASTRIUM together for a EUROPEAN customer. In the coming days, further collaboration possibilities between ANTRIX/ISRO and ASTRIUM would be explored.