The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), on Wednesday, launched its last mission of 2018. Communication satellite GSAT-7A took off at 4.10 pm from launch pad number two of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.
The launch of GSLV-F11 marks the culmination of the Indian space agency's missions for 2018.
Here is a look back at all the missions ISRO conducted in 2018.
PSLV-C40 / Cartosat-2 series Satellite mission on January 12
ISRO kickstarted the year with the launch of PSLV-C40 on January 12 after a 4-month pause following the unsuccessful launch of PSLV-C39 carrying IRNSS-1H in August 2017.
The launcher carried remote sensing satellite Cartosat-2 series along with two experimental satellites - INS-1C and Microsat. 28 foreign satellites were also part of this mission. The launch marked ISRO's 100th satellite mission.
GSLV-F08 / GSAT-6A mission on March 29
GSAT-6A was fired into orbit on ISRO's most reliable geosynchronous launcher - GSLV-F08 - on March 29. The 415.6-ton homemade GSAT-6A satellite aimed to boost mobile communication across the country. Unfortunately, the space agency lost contact with the satellite two days after its launch.
PSLV-C41 / IRNSS-1I mission on April 12
PSLV-C41 carrying navigational satellite IRNSS-1I was launched on April 12 from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Spece Centre in Sriharikota. The 1425 kg IRNSS-1I was the eighth satellite in the IRNSS series, which is the Indian alternative to US-owned NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS).
PSLV-C42 Mission on September 16
A fully commercial mission, the launch vehicle PSLV-C42 carried two British satellites - NovaSAR and S1-4. Both are earth observation satellites and owned by M/s Surrey Satellite Technologies Limited (SSTL).
GSLV Mk III-D2 / GSAT-29 mission on November 14
blasts off from Sriharikota. (ISRO)
GSLV MkIII-D2 was launched from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on November 14. This launch was part of ISRO's ambitious plan to launch 2 satellites each month so as to complete 22 missions in 2019. GSAT-29, the heaviest satellite launched from India, aimed to intensify communication and broadband services in remote areas in the country.
PSLV-C43 / HysIS mission on November 29
As another push for the Indian space industry, ISRO launched 31 satellites (30 foreign and 1 Indian) in this mission. PSLV-C43 successfully blasted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on November 29.
India's 380 kg Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS) was one among the 31 satellites. The primary goal of HysIS is to study the earth’s surface in the visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. 1 Micro and 29 Nanosatellites from eight countries were part of the mission.
GSAT-11 mission on December 5
India's heaviest satellite, GSAT-11 was launched from Kourou launch base in French Guiana atop the Ariane-5 VA-246 launch vehicle. The GSAT-11 launch originally planned for May 2018, suffered multiple delays and finally took off on December 5.
The 5,854-kg GSAT-11 is designed to provide high data rate connectivity to users of Indian mainland and islands. This is part of the government target to achieve 100 GB per second data speed.
GSLV-F11 / GSAT-7A mission on December 19
GSLV-F11 carrying the 2,250kg GSAT-7A blasted off from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The GSAT-7A satellite will be added to "Indian Angry Bird" military communications series of GSAT-7 and GSAT-6.
Apart from all these space missions, ISRO also tested astronaut escape feature in July this year. A critical technology for human spaceflight, the test of the Crew Escape System was carried out for the first time by ISRO. It will help India’s efforts to send manned missions to space in the near future.
In 2019, ISRO aims to set a record by launching the most number of missions including Chandrayaan-2, the second satellite to observe the moon and Aditya-L1, India's first solar mission.