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ISRO Set To Launch Weather Monitoring Satellite INSAT-3DS Today

By LokMarg 17th February 2024

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch its meteorological satellite INSAT-3DS aboard spacecraft GSLV F14 at 5.35 pm Saturday from the Sriharikota spaceport. It will study weather forecasts and natural disaster warnings.

In its 16th mission, the GSLV aims to deploy the INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). Subsequent orbit-raising maneuvers will ensure that the satellite is positioned in a Geo-stationary Orbit.

INSAT-3DS Satellite is a follow-on mission of Third Generation Meteorological Satellite from Geostationary Orbit.

The mission is fully funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).

It is designed for enhanced meteorological observations and monitoring of land and ocean surfaces for weather forecasting and disaster warning. The satellite will augment the Meteorological services along with the presently operational INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR satellites.

Indian Industries have significantly contributed to the making of the Satellite.

Various departments of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) such as the India Meteorology Department (IMD), National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and various other agencies and institutes will be using the INSAT-3DS Satellite data to provide improved weather forecasts and meteorological services.

The primary objectives of the mission are to monitor Earth’s surface, carry out oceanic observations and its environment in various spectral channels of meteorological importance — to provide the vertical profile of various meteorological parameters of the Atmosphere.

Among others, it will provide the Data Collection and Data Dissemination capabilities from the Data Collection Platforms (DCPs), and to provide Satellite Aided Search and Rescue services.

Ahead of the mission launch, ISRO Chairman S Somanath offered prayers at Sri Chengalamma Temple in Sullurpet, Andhra Pradesh.

“We have the launch of GSLV rocket carrying a meteorological satellite-INSAT-3DS for weather climate studies today. This satellite is built for the Ministry of Earth Sciences. It is the third satellite in the INSAT series of satellites,” he told reporters in brief.

The launching sequence can be watched LIVE from 5 pm on ISRO’s website, its social media channels, and the Doordarshan network. (ANI)

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ISRO’s Aditya- L1, Launched Successfully From Sriharikota

By LokMarg 2nd September 2023

The PSLV-C57.1 rocket carrying the Aditya-L1 orbiter, lifted off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh at 11.50 am on Saturday.

The successful launch of the maiden solar mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) came on the heels of the historic lunar landing mission — Chandrayaan-3.

The ISRO successfully placed a lander on the unexplored lunar South Pole, a feat that put India in the record books as the first country to do so.

According to the agency, the Aditya-L1 mission is expected to reach the observation point in four months.

It will be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrangian Point 1 (or L1), which is 1.5 million km away from the Earth in the direction of the sun.

It will carry seven different payloads to have a detailed study of the sun, four of which will observe the light from the sun and the other three will measure in-situ parameters of the plasma and magnetic fields.

The largest and technically most challenging payload on Aditya-L1 is the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph or VELC.

VELC was integrated, tested, and calibrated at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics’ CREST (Centre for Research and Education in Science Technology) campus in Hosakote in collaboration with ISRO.

This strategic location will enable Aditya-L1 to continuously observe the sun without being hindered by eclipses or occultation, allowing scientists to study solar activities and their impact on space weather in real time. Also, the spacecraft’s data will help identify the sequence of processes that lead to solar eruptive events and contribute to a deeper understanding of space weather drivers.

Major objectives of India’s solar mission include the study of the physics of solar corona and its heating mechanism, the solar wind acceleration, coupling and dynamics of the solar atmosphere, solar wind distribution and temperature anisotropy, and origin of Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) and flares and near-earth space weather.

According to the Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics, the atmosphere of the sun, the corona, is what is seen during a total solar eclipse. A coronagraph like the VELC is an instrument that cuts out the light from the disk of the sun, and can thus image the much fainter corona at all times,

Earlier, on August 23, India became the fourth country after the US, China, and Russia to have successfully placed a lander on the moon’s surface.

After the historic touchdown, the ‘Vikram’ lander and the ‘Pragyan’ rover performed different set tasks on the lunar surface, including finding the presence of sulphur and recording relative temperature.

The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission, were a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, the rover moving on the moon’s surface, and in-situ scientific experiments.

Chandrayaan-3 is the ISRO’s follow-up attempt after the Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during its soft landing on the lunar surface in 2019 and was eventually deemed to have failed its core mission objectives. (ANI)

ISRO Counts Down To Launch Of Chandrayaan-3 Mission Today

By LokMarg 14th July 2023

With only hours left for the lift-off, anticipation is building around the launch India’s third lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-3, by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), on Friday.

The GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle, which will release the moon lander and rover into space, will lift off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota at 2.35 pm.
The countdown for the launch began on Thursday at 14:35:17 IST, ahead of the lift-off on Friday.

Chandrayaan-3 will be ISRO’s follow-up attempt after the Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during its soft landing on the lunar surface in 2019 and was eventually deemed to have failed its mission objectives.

The ‘Launch Rehearsal’ simulating the entire launch preparation and process was concluded earlier by the ISRO.

Chandrayaan-3 is equipped with a lander, a rover and a propulsion module. It weighs around 3,900 kilograms.

The ISRO’s third lunar exploration mission is equipped with eight payloads. The experiments to be carried out by Chandrayan 3 include the Vikram lander (named after Space scientist Vikram Sarabhai) which will carry 4 instruments, Pragyan (Saanskrit for Wisdom) rover will carry two instruments and Propulsion Module or the Orbiter will carry one experiment.

Vikram lander’s experiments include Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) to measure surface thermal properties, Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) to measure seismicity around the landing site, Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA) to study the gas and plasma environment, and Passive laser retroreflector array provided by NASA for lunar ranging studies.

While the Pragyan (Saanskrit for Wisdom) rover will carry two instruments to study the surface elemental composition — Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) that will help determine the elemental composition of the lunar soil and rocks around the landing site and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) which will conduct qualitative and quantitative elemental analysis in order to infer the chemical and mineralogical composition of the lunar surface.

The Propulsion Module or the Orbiter will carry Spectropolarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) to study Earth’s spectral and polarimetric measurements from lunar orbit. This helps scientists analyse the reflected light from exoplanets and determine whether they would qualify for habitability.

The journey from Earth to the moon for the spacecraft is estimated to take about a month and the landing is expected on August 23.

Upon landing, it will operate for one lunar day, which is approximately 14 Earth days. One day on the Moon is equal to 14 days on Earth.

K Sivan, former director of ISRO, told ANI that the success of mission Chandrayan-3 will give a morale boost to programmes like Gaganyan, India’s first manned space mission.

Chandrayaan-3’s development phase commenced in January 2020 with the launch planned sometime in 2021, but the Covid-19 pandemic brought an unforeseen delay to the mission’s progress.

The major discovery of the Chandrayaan-1 mission, launched in 2008, was the detection of water (H2O) and hydroxyl (OH) on the lunar surface. Data mined by the rover then also revealed their enhanced abundance towards the polar region.

The primary science objective of the mission was to prepare a three-dimensional atlas of both the near and far sides of the Moon and to conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface with high spatial resolution, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre under ISRO had said.

Moon serves as a repository of the Earth’s past and a successful lunar mission by India will help enhance life on Earth while also enabling it explore the rest of the solar system and beyond.

Director of Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO), S Somanath, said earlier that if everything goes well, the spacecraft will land on the moon on August 23.

The date has been decided based on the sunrise on the moon, he said, adding that if it gets delayed, the landing may take place next month. (ANI)

Vikram-S, India’s First PVT Rocket Successfully Lifts Off From Sriharikota

By LokMarg 18th November 2022

Vikram-S, India’s first-ever privately developed rocket successfully lifted off from the Sriharikota spaceport on Friday morning.

The lift-off of the Vikram Suborbital rocket took place at 11:30 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.
“Mission Prarambh is successfully accomplished. Congratulations” tweeted the Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO and tagged @SkyrootA Congratulations India! @INSPACeIND

The ‘Prarambh’ mission and the Vikram-S rocket have been developed by Skyroot Aerospace start-up in Hyderabad with support from ISRO and IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre). The rocket is carrying payloads of two Indian and one international customers into space.

“89.5 Kms peak altitude achieved. Vikram-S rocket meets all flight parameters. It’s history in the making for India. Keep watching,” Skyroot Aerospace tweeted attaching a YouTube link of the flight

Union Minister Jitendra Singh, on Friday, arrived at Sriharikota for the grand launch of ‘Vikram S’.

Taking to Twitter, Jitendra Singh shared a picture with the team members of Skyroot Aerospace which he captioned, “With #StartUp Team “Skyroot Aerospace” at #Sriharikota, minutes before the launch of the first-ever private Rocket, Vikram-S, named after Vikram Sarabhai, the founding father of India’s Space program. Countdown begins!.”

‘Vikram-S’ is named after Vikram Sarabhai, the founding father of India’s Space Program.

The ‘Prarambh’ mission and the Vikram-S rocket have been developed by Skyroot Aerospace in Hyderabad with support from ISRO and IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre). The rocket is carrying payloads of two Indian and one international customers into space.

With the groundwork starting around late 2020, Vikram-S has been developed within a record time of two years which is powered by solid fuelled propulsion, cutting-edge avionics, and all carbon fiber core structure, as per Skyroot Aerospace.

The Vikram-S will help test and validate the majority of the technologies in the Vikram series of orbital class space launch vehicles, including many sub-systems and technologies that will be tested across the pre-lift off and post-lift off phases of the launch, according to Skyroot Aerospace.

Vikram S is among one of the first few all-composite space launch vehicles, which is made up of 3D-printed solid thrusters for its spin stability.

As per Skyroot Aerospace, with a body mass of 545 kgs, length of 6m, and diameter of 0.375 meters, Vikram-S is the quickest and most affordable ride to space. (ANI)