ISRO Missions

Before I congratulate  ISRO team for the great RLV mission,  let me link you to an interesting article in YAHOO today. It makes every ISROian proud.

ISRO's achievements

And if you are in a hurry to read the article, here it is (copied from Yahoo ) !

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to make history as it gears up to launch its first space shuttle on 23 May, 2016, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, making India the fifth country to do so. The fully indigenous launch vehicle, RLV-TD (Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Development) was made at a cost of just Rs. 95 crores, and took five years to build. Standing 6.5 m high and weighing 1.75 tons, the shuttle will cross the speed of sound as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. This is the first time that India will launch a spacecraft with delta wings, which will be glided back on to a virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal. The RLV-TD is a scaled down version of the final spacecraft, which can take 10-15 years to become ready.              

India’s premier space organisation has a number of feathers in its cap. We take a look at ISRO’s achievements that has made India proud, and the future projects that the space agency has lined up:

Chandrayaan 1: India’s first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan 1, was launched on 22 October, 2008, using a modified version of the PSLV from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The mission had a 312 days operational period, where it surveyed the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and 3-dimensional topography. The spacecraft carried a total of 11 instruments free of cost, of which five were Indian and six were from foreign institutes and space agencies. The mission also collected data, which helped NASA detect magmatic water locked under the surface of the Moon. 

Mangalyaan: Undoubtedly, one of the most proud moments in the history of the space organisation was the launch of ISRO’s mission to Mars, Mangalyaan. The Mars Orbiter Mission was the first successful attempt by any country to reach the planet, in its first attempt, with ISRO becoming the fourth space agency to reach the planet, after the Soviet Space Programme, NASA, and the European Space Programme. Costing just Rs. 450 crores, it was also the least expensive Mars mission, till date. Launched on 5 November, 2013, the Orbiter entered the Red Planet’s orbit on September 24, 2014, after a 666 million km long journey, and has remained in orbit, collecting vital scientific data, ever since.  For its achievement, the Mars mission team won the prestigious 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the science and engineering category.

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS): ISRO launched its seventh, and final satellite, called NAVIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), in April, this year. The launch of the satellite will help India have its own GPS system in place, covering an area of 1,500 kms from Indian boundaries. This makes India one of the five countries with its own navigation system, with an accuracy of better than 20m.

Heaviest commercial mission: In the heaviest commercial mission ever undertaken by it, ISRO launched five British satellites on board the PSLV-C28, from Sriharikota, on 10 July, 2015. Three identical DMC3 optical earth observation satellites, each weighing 447 kgs, and two auxiliary satellites, were launched.

GSLV MK-III: In December, 2014, ISRO launched the GSLV MK-III, one of its heaviest rockets, weighing 630 tonnes and capable of carrying 4 tonnes. It also carried an Indian made unmanned crew capsule, designed to carry up to three astronauts into space.  

Space Capsule Recovery (SRE-I) mission: The Indian experimental spacecraft SRE-I, was launched from Sriharikota on 10 January, 2007. Designed to demonstrate the ability to recover an orbiting space capsule, the SRE-I also tested a number of technologies such as reusable Thermal Protection System, management of communication-blackouts, decerelation and flotation system for water-splash landing, guidance algorithms for ballistic entry, etc. The mission acted as a precursor to a possible future manned mission.

Future plans:

ISRO has a number of plans lined up for the future. Apart from undertaking the development of new launch vehicles and spacecraft, it also has plans to launch Earth Observation Satellites, unmanned missions to near Earth objects, and other planets. Here are some projects that ISRO has planned for the future: