ISRO to send three satellites on board PSLV early next year
SRIHARIKOTA (PTI): ISRO intended to make a series of launches in 2011-2012 including a "Youth Satellite" made by students of Singapore University, the space agency's Chairman K Radhakrishnan said Saturday.
Explaining about the agency's future plans, he told reporters here that ISRO was hoping to sending three satellites on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle early next year.
"Currently it is in the assembling stage. We will be doing the flight testing stage later in January (2011) and we are expecting it to be launched in the first week of February," he said, adding it will be the 16 mission of the PSLV, (PSLV C-16).
The vehicle would carry the Resourcesat-II, Youth Sat, a satellite developed by students of Singapore University, and X-SAT.
Resourcesat-2 is a follow on mission to Resourcesat-1. It is intended to replace Resourcesat-1 launched in 2003. The images provided by Resourcesat-1 were used for advanced applications such as vegetation, crop yield and disaster management support.
Besides, he said a heavier communication satellite GSAT-8 which is being jointly developed by Indo-French space agencies would be launched from Arianespace French Guyuana in March-April 2011.
"24 Ku-band transponders will be coming by March 2011.
We have a contract with them (French Guyana)," he said. "After this we will be launching the GSAT-10 and GSAT-9 completing the series," he said, adding that GSAT-10 and GSAT-9 would be communication satellites.
ISRO is also looking at possibilities to launch Megha-tropiques satellite on PSLV-C17 by 2011 which would help to study the tropical climates.
On the Chandrayaan-2 mission, he said they are planning to launch it in 2013-2014. He said that the space agency discussed the matter with French President Nicolas Sarkozy who expressed happiness about the mission.
Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni had visited the ISRO headquarters at Bangalore early this month.
Radhakrishnan said they would also launch the communication satellite GSAT-12 using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle next year.
"We are building it right now.. We are going to launch it from Sriharikota in 2011", he said.
ISRO to send three satellites on board PSLV early next year - Brahmand.com
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GSLV failure will not hit manned mission and Chandrayaan-2: ISRO
ANGALORE (PTI): The GSLV failure Saturday may at this stage look like leading to some delay in the 2013-scheduled Chandrayaan-2, India's second unmanned mission to moon, but there is no cause for worry as the ISRO is confident of doing the catch-up act to meet the time-line.
The unsuccessful mission has led to the question whether the Indian Space Research Organisation would be able to meet its schedule on the ambitious venture.
While a section of the space establishment believes that there would be "some impact" because of the failure, there are others who expressed the view that once the cause for the unsuccessful mission is known, ISRO could work overtime to stick to the time-line, ISRO sources said.
Chandrayaan-2 would have an orbiter (satellite), a lander and a rover.
Chandrayaan-2 is planned to be launched onboard Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. While the lander would be provided by Russia, the orbiter and the rover are being built by ISRO.
Earlier this year, the payloads to be flown onboard Chandrayaan-2 (orbiter and rover) have been finalised by a National committee of experts drawn from ISRO centres, academic institutions and R & D laboratories and Chaired by Prof U R Rao, Chairman, Advisory Committee on Space Sciences (ADCOS) and former Chairman of ISRO.
The committee, after detailed deliberations and considering the mission requirements, weight and power available for scientific payloads, has recommended five payloads to be flown on the orbiter of which three are new and two are improved versions of payloads flown earlier on Chandrayaan-1 orbiter.
The committee has also recommended two scientific payloads on the rover of Chandrayaan-2. Inclusion of additional payloads, if possible within the mission constraints, will be considered at a later date following a detailed review.
Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft weighs about 2,650 kg at lift-off of which the orbiter weight is about 1,400 kg and lander weight is about 1,250 kg. Development of the sub-systems of the orbiter and the rover is in progress at ISRO centres in Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad.
GSLV failure will not hit manned mission and Chandrayaan-2: ISRO - Brahmand.com
