ISRO's top milestones in recent years

The Indian Space Research Organisation announced that Chandrayaan-2, its most complex mission ever, will be launched on July 15, according to Chairman K Sivan.

. The landing on the moon near the South Pole, an uncharted territory so far, would be on September 6 or 7, Sivan told reporters.

. ISRO has launched 104 spacecraft missions, including 3 nano-Satellites, 1 micro Satellite. They also have completed 74 launch missions Including Scramjet-TD & RLV-TD.

. Here are a few most important milestones of ISRO over the years:

. Chandrayaan 1

. India's first Lunar probe, Chandrayaan was launched in October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The Moon Impact Probe (MIP), a product of former President Abdul Kalam's vision developed by ISRO was released by Chandrayaan-1. Chandrayaan-1 data showed evidence of water in the exosphere of the Moon .

. MUST READ: Finding by Chandrayaan-1 path-breaking: Nair

. Mars orbiter mission

. This phenomenal mission made India the first country to enter the red planet's orbit on its first attempt. It was carried by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C25 (PSLV-C25), the rocket stood around 44 metres tall and weighed around 320 tonnes.

. PSLV-C25, twenty-fifth flight of PSLV launched Mars Orbiter Mission Spacecraft from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.

. The total project cost is around Rs.450 crore with the rocket costing around Rs.110 crore , orbiter around Rs.150 crore and the balance spent on beefing up the ground support and tracking systems.

. Marking the first anniversary of MOM, in September 2015, Space Applications Centre, (ISRO), Ahmedabad released a 'Mar Atlas' which contains a compilation of images and results acquired by Mars Colour Camera (MCC).

. Launch vehicles

. PSLV : Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is the third generation launch vehicle of India. The first Indian launch vehicle, after its maiden successful launch in October 1994, transpired to be the reliable and versatile workhorse launch vehicle of India with 39 consecutively successful missions by June 2017.

. PSLV-C45 : The PSLV-C45 was launched on April 01, 2019 from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), Sriharikota in its 47th flight. This flight marked the first mission of PSLV-QL, a new variant of PSLV with four strap-on motors.

. MUST WATCH: ISRO successfully launches PSLV-C45

. ALSO READ: PSLV-C45 launches EMISAT, 28 foreign satellites

. GSLV: Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II (GSLV Mk II) is the fourth generation launch vehicle. The largest launch vehicle developed by India currently in operation is a three-stage vehicle.

. The four liquid strap-ons and a solid rocket motor at the core form the first stage. The second stage of the vehicle is equipped with a high thrust engine using liquid fuel. The Cryogenic Upper Stage forms the third and final stage of the vehicle.

. ALSO READ: Isro plans record 22 launches in 2019

. Defence satellite

. EMISAT: ISRO’s Mini Satellite-2 bus weighing about 436 kg, Electronic Intelligence Satellite (EMISAT) is intended for electromagnetic spectrum measurement.

. The satellite was successfully placed in its intended sun-synchronous polar orbit of 748 km height by PSLV-C45 on April 01, 2019.

. Helping the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), this satellite will monitor the radar and the sensor on the border. This satellite will be used not only for human but for any kind of activity related to communication.

. Communication satellite

. Established in 1983, t he Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system is one of the largest domestic communication satellite systems in the Asia-Pacific region with nine operational communication satellites placed in Geo-stationary orbit.

. GSAT-7A: The military communication satellite, GSAT-7A was launched successfully on December 20, 2018, from ISRO, Sriharikota, which will be exclusively used by the Indian Air Force (IAF) to help connect all its assets.

. Dubbed as India’s 'Angry Bird', the satellite, GSAT-7A, would connect all assets of the IAF like planes, airborne early warning control platforms, drones and ground stations thus enabling the force to build a centralised network. The launch of GSAT-7A would boost the communication capabilities of the IAF, according to sources.

. GSAT-31: India successfully launches GSAT-31 satellite was successfully launched from the Spaceport in French Guiana in the early hours of February 6th, this year.

. GSAT-31 derives its heritage from ISRO’s earlier INSAT/GSAT satellite series. “GSAT-31 has a unique configuration of providing flexible frequency segments and flexible coverage. The satellite will provide communication services to Indian mainland and islands,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman, K Sivan said.

. "GSAT-31 will provide DTH Television Services, connectivity to VSATs for ATM, Stock-exchange, Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) and e-governance applications. “The satellite will also be used for bulk data transfer for a host of emerging telecommunication applications,” he elaborated.

. Other upcoming projects

. Aditya - L1 First Indian mission to study the Sun: Renamed from Aditya-1 mission which was meant to observe only the solar corona, Aditya-L1 expanded its scope with additional experiments can now provide observations of Sun's Photosphere (soft and hard X-ray), Chromosphere (UV) and corona (Visible and NIR).

. The project is approved by the Government between 2008-09 and the satellite and the launch was expected within 2019 – 2020 timeframe, by PSLV-XL from Sriharikota launch base.

. Gaganyaan: Announced by the Prime Minister in the 2018 Independence Day speech, Gaganyaan 2022 is an indigenous mission that would take Indian astronauts to space. Isro's GSLV Mk III, the three-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle, will be used to launch Gaganyaan.

. MUST READ: Gaganyaan: 16 minutes to reach the space

. With this mission in action, it will take about 16 minutes for Indian astronauts to reach the space where they would spend nearly a week carrying out scientific experiments, before returning to earth in their crew module that would splash down in the Arabian Sea.

. Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) : On May 23, 2016, ISRO successfully tested India’s first winged body aerospace vehicle operating in hypersonic flight regime.

. According to ISRO, after successfully surviving high temperatures of re-entry with the help of its Thermal Protection System (TPS), RLV-TD successfully glided down to the defined landing spot over the Bay of Bengal, at a distance of about 450km from Sriharikota, thereby fulfilling its mission objectives.

. In this flight, critical technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance & control, reusable thermal protection system and re-entry mission management have been successfully validated, the ISRO report said.

. NISAR satellite : A collaboration between NASA and ISRO, NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) will be the first satellite designed to observe and take measurements of some of the planet’s most complex processes, using advanced radar imaging.

. Earth's complete land and ice masses, would be imaged 4 to 6 times a month at resolutions of 5 to 10 meters.

. Mars orbiter mission 2: With the immense success of Mangalyaan aka Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), ISRO is announced on its second venture to the red planet, 28 October 2014 at the Engineers Conclave conference held in Bengaluru.

. An Announcement of Opportunity was released requesting submissions for scientific instruments for an orbiter only, with a deadline set for 20 September 2016.

. MUST READ: 32 missions planned for 2019: ISRO

ISRO's top milestones in recent years

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