A satellite launch vehicle lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andra Pradesh.
| Photo Credit: File photo

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up for the 100th launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, which is scheduled to take place at the end of January with the launch of the GSLV-F15 NVS-02 mission.

The GSLV-F15 with indigenous cryogenic stage will place NVS-02 satellite in a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. The launch is scheduled to take place from the spaceport’s second launch pad.

The NVS-02 is the second satellite in the NVS series, and part of India’s Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC).

According to ISRO, NavIC is India’s independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide accurate Position, Velocity and Timing (PVT) service to users in India as well as the region extending about 1,500 km beyond the Indian landmass, which is its primary service area.

NavIC provides two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Service (SPS) and Restricted Service (RS). NavIC SPS provides a position accuracy of better than 20 metres (2σ) and timing accuracy better than 40 nano seconds (2σ) over the primary service area.

Five second-generation NavIC satellites viz. NVS-01/02/03/04/05 are envisaged to augment NavIC base layer constellation with enhanced features for ensuring continuity of services. The NVS series of satellites incorporates L1 band signals additionally to widen the services.

NVS-01, the first of the second-generation satellites, was launched on board GSLV-F12 on May 29, 2023. For the first time, an indigenous atomic clock was flown in NVS-01.

NVS-02, the second satellite in the NVS series, is configured with navigation payload in L1, L5 and S bands in addition to ranging payload in C-band like its predecessor-NVS-01. It is configured on standard I-2K bus platforms with a lift-off mass of 2,250 kg and power handling capability of ~3 kW. It will be placed at 111.75ºE, replacing IRNSS-1E. NVS-02 uses a combination of indigenous and procured atomic clocks for precise time estimation.

NVS-02 satellite was designed, developed and integrated at the U. R. Satellite Centre (URSC) with the support of other satellite-based work centres.

New Delhi:

With an eye on sending an Indian on the Moon, the Union cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given permission to build a massive launch pad in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota. The Union cabinet today in a standalone decision cleared the construction of a third launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. This will be the launch pad from where an Indian could be sent in a rocket to land on the Moon by 2040.

The spindle-shaped island of Sriharikota, some 100 km north of Chennai on the Bay of Bengal coast, already has two launch pads. The third launch pad will be ready in four years and will cost Rs 3,984 crore to build. It will accommodate India’s ‘monster rocket’, the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV).

“Today’s Cabinet decision on establishing the Third Launch Pad at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh will strengthen our space sector and encourage our scientists,” Mr Modi said on X. 

Sriharikota is also host to India’s first private launch pad made by Agnikul Cosmos Pvt Ltd, from which a rocket named Agnibaan Sorted was launched on May 30, 2024 for a sub-orbital flight.

The NGLV stands nearly 90 metres – taller than the Qutab Minar – and will have three times the present payload capability with 1.5 times the cost compared to LVM3. It will have reusability, resulting in low-cost access to space and modular green propulsion systems.

The Centre has allocated Rs 8,239 crore to develop the NGLV, which will be completed in 96 months.

The goals of the Indian space programme need a new generation of human-rated launch vehicles with high payload capability and reusability. Hence, the development of the NGLV has been taken up to carry a maximum payload of 30 tonnes to low-Earth orbit with a reusable first stage.

India achieved self-reliance in space transportation systems to launch satellites up to 10 tonnes to low-Earth orbit and 4 tonnes to geo-synchronous transfer orbit through the currently operational launch vehicles.

Till date, Sriharikota has seen 99 significant launches and the next liftoff of the Geo-Synchronous Launch Vehicle Mark-2 will be the 100th launch of a new-generation navigation satellite.

“India’s first launch pad is used for launching the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the newer second launch pad can launch both PSLV and Launch Vehicle Mark-3. The third launch pad when ready will launch NGLV and with some upgradation it can also be used to send an Indian to the Moon,” said Dr V Narayanan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The third land pad is designed to have a configuration that is universal and adaptable to support not only the NGLV, but also the LVM3 vehicles with semi-cryogenic stage as well as scaled-up configurations of NGLV.

It will be realised with a maximum industry participation by fully using ISRO’s experience in establishing the earlier launch pads and maximally sharing the existing launch complex facilities.

As of today, the Indian Space Transportation Systems are completely reliant on two launch pads i.e. the first launch pad and the second one.

The first one was realised 30 years ago for the PSLV and continues to provide launch support for the PSLV and the SSLV. The second launch pad was established primarily for the GSLV and the LVM3, and also functions as a standby for PSLV.

The second launch pad has been operational for almost 20 years and has enhanced the launch capacity towards enabling some commercial missions of PSLV/LVM3 along with the national missions including the Chandrayaan-3 mission. The second one is now getting ready to launch the human-rated LVM3 for the Gaganyaan missions.

The expanded vision of the Indian space programme during the ‘Amrit Kaal’ including the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) by 2035 and an Indian-crewed lunar landing by 2040 need a new generation of heavier launch vehicles with new propulsion systems, which cannot be met by the existing launch pads.

The expeditious establishment of a third launch pad to cater to a heavier class of next-generation launch vehicles and as a stand by for the second launch pad is highly essential so as to meet the evolving space transportation requirements for another 25-30 years.

India is making a second launch port at Kulasekarapattinam, a coastal village in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. The facility is being constructed over 2,350 acres. This is being designed to launch small rockets such as the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) and smaller rockets made by India’s private companies. PM Modi laid the foundation stone on February 28, 2024.

Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh):

ISRO is gearing up to achieve a significant milestone with a Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle mission scheduled in January set to become the 100th launch from the Sriharikota spaceport, a top official said.

The 99th launch from Sriharikota was Monday’s PSLV-C60 mission which successfully placed two spacecraft for conducting the Space Docking Experiment in a circular orbit, ISRO Chairman S Somanath said.

“So, all of you have seen the majestic lift-off and the launch of the SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) rocket, and for us, this is the 99th launch of any vehicle from Satish Dhawan Space Centre so, that is also a very important number. So, we are going for the 100th launch at the beginning of the next year”, he said.

Mr Somanath, also the Secretary, Department of Space, was talking to reporters after the PSLV-C60 mission successfully placed the Space Docking Experiment spacecraft A and B in a circular orbit.

On future launches planned by ISRO, Somanath said, “In 2025, we will have many missions to start with the GSLV launching the (navigation satellite) NVS-02 in the month of January.” ISRO successfully placed a navigation satellite onboard the GSLV-F12/NVS-01 rocket in May 2023. This GSLV rocket successfully deployed the NVS-01 navigation satellite, weighing about 2,232 kg into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).

The NVS-01 was the first of the second-generation satellites envisaged for the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) services.

On Monday’s PSLV-C60 mission, Mr Somanath expressed hope that many more Space Docking Experiments would be taken up by the scientists in the coming days.

“It is really an important mission with (India’s) space sector reforms and expansion of space activities. There will be many more SpaDeX varieties including complex missions of docking systems in the coming days,” he said.

Meanwhile, referring to the rescheduling of the PSLV-C60 rocket from the earlier planned 9.58 pm to 10 pm on December 30, Mr Somanath said, scientists do a conjunction study to check whether a satellite going to an orbit comes very close to another satellite while travelling in the same orbit.

“If you find there is any close proximity (between satellites), then we have to move the current satellite a little bit. Either, we delay it (the launch) or make it early, so that this proximity condition does not occur,” he said.

Scientists undertook time to fix the launch for the lift-off and decide on the best time which gives the maximum distance to be away from the other satellite in the orbit, he added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New:

The skies over Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, were lit up at 10 pm today with the 62nd launch of the PSLV. The 25-hour countdown which started on Sunday, ended with the rocket lifting off from the First Launch Pad at this spaceport, exuding blinding orange fumes that streaked through the night sky. Within 15 minutes, it placed the twin space docking satellites into space. 

Amid much applause, Dr S Somanath, chairman of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) announced that they have got the “right orbit”. 

The last stage of the launch vehicle was continuing to work to lower its orbit for the POEM (PS4-Orbital Experiment Module), which would conduct tests in the vacuum of space. 

ISRO has announced that the space docking experiment will most likely take place on January 7. The two satellites will be mated in space when they would be travelling at ten times the velocity of a bullet. 

The Spacecraft A (SDX01) or the ‘Chaser’ and Spacecraft B (SDX02) or the ‘Target’ would be merged together at an altitude of about 470 km after travelling at the same speed and distance.

A successful docking and undocking would make India the world’s fourth nation to have space docking technology, ISRO has said.

Explaining the process, Dr Somnath, in an exclusive interview to NDTV, said: “When you have multiple objects in space that need to be brought together for a specific purpose, a mechanism called docking is required. Docking is the process by which two space objects come together and connect”. 

This, he said, can be done using various approaches — soft mechanisms, hard mechanisms, or pressurised compartments for human transfer. 

“For example, on the International Space Station, crew modules dock at the station, equalise pressure, and transfer people,” he told NDTV.

This was the 99th rocket launch from the Satish Dhawan Centre of Sriharikota and it had a glorious lift off, placing SpaDeX satellites in the best orbit. 

The next steps — docking and the 24 experiments — will be conducted over the next few weeks.

With this, ISRO, which had started 2024 with a PSLV launch on Jan 1, ends it on a high note as well.

The Chennai-based space start-up Agnikul Cosmos Private Limited will launch its first rocket Agnibaan Sub Orbital Technology Demonstrator from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on March 22.

Tamil Nadu will witness history when one of its space start-ups launches its first rocket on March 22. The Chennai headquartered space start-up Agnikul Cosmos Private Limited will be launching its first rocket Agnibaan Sub Orbital Technology Demonstrator (SOrTeD) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.

There are several interesting facts about this particular launch – Agnibaan SOrTeD – will be India’s first launch from a private launchpad, India’s first semi-cryogenic engine powered rocket launch and the world’s first single piece 3D printed engine designed and built indigenously.

Founded in 2017 by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM, and Satya Chakravarthy, Agnikul Cosmos became the first company in the country to sign an agreement with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) under the IN-SPACe initiative to have access to the space agency’s expertise and its facilities to build Agnibaan in December 2020.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Chakravarthy, co-founder and advisor, Agnikul Cosmos, and professor at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, told The Hindu, “This would be India’s first liquid oxygen-kerosene rocket flight in India, from India’s first privately developed launchpad, in Sriharikota.”

“More importantly, we would be flying our patented world’s most integrated single piece 3D printed rocket,” he added.

He further explained, “This is a sub-orbital launch but it is not a sounding rocket. It has the full stack of closed loop feedback guidance and control with a gimballed thrust vector control. As such, this is the first private launch in India requiring a flight termination system and a safety radius from the launchpad calculated from some tens of thousands of simulations of worst case scenarios.”

“This mission attempts to validate the guidance, control, and navigation system, the launch release hold mechanism, the entire command sequence operated by the onboard computer, telemetry and tracking – all that goes with a full orbital flight except stage separation,” Mr. Chakravarthy explained. He pointed out that the next step post the mission would be post-flight analysis of all the subsystem performance. The immediate future plan is to get ready for the orbital flight.

TN’s space ecosystem is growing

Tamil Nadu has always played a crucial role in the space sector. Over the years, several companies and MSME’s from the State have contributed to the development of minor parts for several prestigious launches, including Chandrayaan-3. During a recent interaction with The Hindu on the State’s plans in the space sector, Sandeep Nanduri, Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO), said, “There are numerous companies in Tamil Nadu who are part of the ISRO vendor base offering services in sectors such as design, R&D and simulation, material supply, propellants supply, sub system, mechanical and structural manufacturing, etc.”

According to details provided by TIDCO, there are several private sector entities operating like Agnikul, Data Patterns, L&T that have strong presence in the State. The details shared also mentioned, “Data Patterns has proven reliability of being a supplier to ISRO and has gradually expanded its role from sub-system manufacturer to complete satellite manufacturer. L&T has presence in Coimbatore and manufactures rocket motors for ISRO. AgniKul Cosmos Private Limited was incubated out of National Centre for Combustion R&D of IIT Madras.”

Mr. Nanduri also said that TIDCO is taking proactive steps by establishing two new space parks adjacent to the upcoming space port in Kulasekarapattinam. The first is dedicated to space-related manufacturing, catering to the needs of space organisations, and the second focuses on propellant production, crucial for rocket launches as well as related services.

Agnikul’s rocket is the second privately-developed rocket in India. In 2022, Vikram-S, India’s first privately-developed rocket, lifted off from the ISRO launchpad in Sriharikota. Developed by the Hyderabad-based start-up Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited, the 6-metre tall vehicle hit a peak altitude of 89.5 kilometres and then splashed into the Bay of Bengal about five minutes after the launch. This mission was titled Prarambh.

ISRO Chairman S. Somanath addresses the 50th Convention of the All India Management Association at the Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi, September 27, 2023.
| Photo Credit: ANI

In a crucial step in India’s ambitious programme to lift its astronauts into space, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will test its crew escape system (CES) on October 21, 2023. The flight, from Sriharikota, will test if the CES can protect the astronauts should the launch vehicle malfunction. ISRO has designated this mission TV-D1.

According to an ISRO statement, the test will begin between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. When the launch vehicle – fit with the crew module and the CES – reaches a velocity of 1.2 Mach and an altitude of 17 km, an abort command will be issued. The module with the CES will separate from the rocket and deploy a series of parachutes, and eventually splash down in the Bay of Bengal, where Navy personnel will recover it. The whole sequence will be uncrewed.

In the ultimate mission that will hoist the astronauts into a low-earth orbit in 2024 or 2025, the rocket will be the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM-3). But that on October 21 will be a single-stage rocket powered by liquid propellants. It was purpose-built for the TV-D1 mission and wheeled to the launch pad on October 15.

ISRO Chairman S. Somanath spoke to T.S. Subramanian for The Hindu about this test, the crew module, and preparations for the human spaceflight programme, a.k.a. ‘Gaganyaan‘. Excerpts from the interview follow:

You will be soon testing the crew escape system of the Gaganyaan project, which will ultimately take the Indian astronauts into space. Have you made the LVM-3 rocket more powerful to carry the big crew module?

Gaganyaan has many, many elements [and] components. The rocket is one part of it. The rocket LVM-3, which will take the crew to orbit, is being strengthened. The process of strengthening it is already completed. That is called the ‘human rating’ of the vehicle. It is already over. All systems and engines have been tested and confirmed. So our rocket – human-rated – is virtually completed.

There is another element called the crew module and the crew escape system. The new crew module is under development. It is being tested. There is no capability in India to manufacture it. We have to get it from outside. That work is currently going on.

We wanted a lot of technology to come from outside, from Russia, Europe, and America. But many did not come. We only got some items. That is going to take time. So we have to develop systems such as environmental control and life support systems. We call it ‘ECLSS’. That has to be developed internally. We have developed its engineering model. This is basically for controlling the temperature, oxygen, wastage process, vibration, fire hazards, and so many [other] things.

We have to make a crew escape system. That is, in the case of any damage to the rocket, the crew will [have to] be taken away from the rocket and saved.

Finally, there is a system called Integrated Vehicle Health Management System, or IVHMS, which has intelligence. It will sense an imminent failure and take abort action. It will autonomously decide. This system is under development. These are new things. We have to test all of them over a period of time.

Hundreds of tests are planned: helicopter-based tests, test-vehicle-based tests, rocket-based tests, abort tests, unmanned [tests], robotic missions, and so on. All these will be done. For the next one year to a year and a half, this will be our programme. Every day, there is some test happening. Every subsystem and component goes through hundreds of tests. When a major test happens, the press will know about it.

The test vehicle test will happen in October [i.e. October 21]. It will be an abort test. The launch vehicle will take the unmanned crew module up to a height of 17 km. Then we will say the mission is ‘aborted’. It will [have to] be saved using the crew escape system. It will bring back the module to the sea and we will collect it.

In the real mission, will three Indian astronauts go in the crew module to low-earth orbit?

Finally how many people will go, we will decide later. Not now. We don’t have to send three… We can also send one in the first mission. There is no hurry to send three. We can send one by one. Ultimately, we can send even 10 astronauts. Why limit to three? That is not a measure of anything. If you are able to send a human being into space, that is it.

It depends on our confidence at that point of time… Only when we are very sure of ourselves, we will send human beings into space. Otherwise, we will not do that. In my opinion, it will take more time than we really thought of. We are not worried about it. What we are worried about is that we should do it right the first time.

The schedule is secondary here. Even if I send a person tomorrow, I am not going to achieve anything other than claim that I have sent this person. The capability development is most important. Technology development is most important. Some claims I made last year are not important. I am focusing on capability development.

S. Somanath, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar K

ISRO will conduct three more test vehicle missions under the ambitious Gaganyaan programme after the maiden TV-D1 test flight, which is scheduled on October 21, the space agency’s chairman S. Somanath said on October 14.

The Gaganyaan project envisages a demonstration of the human spaceflight capability by launching a human crew to an orbit of 400 km and bringing them safely back to earth by landing in Indian sea waters.

The test vehicle development flight (TV-D1) will be conducted at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh to test the crew module that is scheduled to house Indian astronauts during the human spaceflight late next year.

“The first test vehicle flight (of the Gaganyaan mission) will be conducted on October 21. After that we have planned for three more test missions, D2, D3, D4. We will hold thorough tests during the test flight sequence,” Mr. Somanath, who is also the secretary, Department of Space, told reporters in Madurai. He was here to participate in a couple of events in Rameswaram.

Also read | ISRO to conduct first test flight of Gaganyaan mission on October 21

TV-D1 involves launching the crew module to outer space, bringing it back to earth and recovering it after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal.

Recently, the Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency would carry out the first of several test flights ahead of the Gaganyaan maiden mission on October 21 at Sriharikota.

To a query about the Aditya-L1 programme, the maiden solar mission undertaken by ISRO, Mr. Somanath expressed hope that the spacecraft will reach the Lagrange point (L1) in the middle of January 2024.

“We will insert it in the L1 point and undertake various scientific experiments from that point,” he said.

Last week, ISRO scientists performed a trajectory correction manoeuvre on the Aditya L1 spacecraft. The spacecraft was launched by a PSLV-C57 rocket on September 2.

On the setting up of another launch pad in Kulasekarapattinam in Tuticorin district, he said ISRO would be able to avail several benefits from that launch pad as it would be useful for launching smaller rockets and to serve private players.

“…right now bigger rockets like PSLV need to take a turn towards the southward direction above Sri Lanka since the launch pad is in the east (in Sriharikota). Whereas in Kulasekarapattinam, we don’t need to make rockets to make that turn as they will be already facing southward,” he said.

“Smaller Satellite Launch Vehicles and private players will be able to use that launch pad (in Kulasekarapattinam). Right now, the land is in the acquisition stage. It will take two years for completion,” Mr. Somanath said.

For launching its Aditya-L1 mission on September 2, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be using a variant of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) which also launched India’s first missions to the moon and Mars.

With the PSLV-C57/Aditya-L1 mission, India’s first solar mission, the PSLV-XL variant will mark its 25th flight.

Read more here

Aditya-L1, the primary space-based Indian observatory to check the Solar, is getting able for the origination. Record
| Picture Credit score: ANI

Aditya-L1, first space-based Indian observatory to check the solar, can be introduced on September 2, the Indian Area Analysis Organisation (ISRO) introduced on Monday

“The launch of Aditya-L1, the first space-based Indian observatory to study the sun, is scheduled for September 2, 2023, at 11:50 Hrs. IST from Sriharikota,” ISRO posted on X, previously Twitter

Consistent with ISRO, the spacecraft can be positioned in a halo orbit across the Lagrange level 1 (L1) of the sun-earth gadget, which is set 1.5 million km from the earth. It’s anticipated to hurry greater than 120 days for the spacecraft to achieve the L1.

“A satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the sun without any occultation/eclipses. This will provide a greater advantage of observing the solar activities and its effect on space weather in real time. The spacecraft carries seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layers of the sun (the corona) using electromagnetic and particle and magnetic field detectors. Using the special vantage point L1, four payloads directly view the sun and the remaining three payloads carry out in-situ studies of particles and fields at the Lagrange point L1, thus providing important scientific studies of the propagatory effect of solar dynamics in the interplanetary medium,” states the Aditya L1 challenge profile.

The fits of Aditya L1 payloads are anticipated to grant essentially the most an important data to know the condition of coronal heating, coronal collection ejection, pre-flare and flare actions and their traits, dynamics of area climate, propagation of debris and disciplines and so on.

The seven payloads boarded the satellite tv for pc are Perceptible Emission Sequence Coronagraph, Sun Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope , Sun Low Power X-ray Spectrometer , Prime Power L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer , Aditya Sun air Particle Experiment, Plasma Analyser Bundle For Aditya ) and Complex Tri-axial Prime Solution Virtual Magnetometers.