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India's First Crewed Mission | ISRO Gaganyaan Vyommitra (Credits- Astrum)

GSLV Mark-3 launch, congratulations to Team ISRO

GSLV Mark-3 (Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ISRO) Congratulations to Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO ) for the successful launch of GSLV Mark-3 (D-1) in it's maiden voyage. You have made the nation proud.  A little insight into  what GSLV  Mark-3 is all about and why this launch is so important for India: The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III is a launch vehicle developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).  It is intended to launch satellites into geostationary orbit and as a launcher for an Indian crew vehicle. The GSLV-III features an Indian cryogenic third stage and a higher payload capacity than the current GSLV Mark-1 and 2.  Development for the GSLV-III began in the early 2000s, with the first launch planned for 2009-2010.Several factors have delayed the program, including the 15 April 2010 failure of the ISRO-developed cryogenic upper stage on the GSLV Mk II. A suborbital flight test of the GSLV-III launcher, w

How The (Political) Planets Aligned to Get India to Mars ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- John Johnson Freese)

ISRO's MOM ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Nesnad) Source- The Dipomat Author- John Johnson Freese The world rightfully applauded when India’s Mangalyaan spacecraft began orbiting Mars in September 2014. After all, new entries were being logged in the record books: India became the first Asian country to reach Mars, the first country to orbit Mars on its first attempt, and only the fourth country to orbit Mars, with such space heavy-hitters as the United States, the Soviet Union and Europe. But who pays attention to record books any longer when it comes to space anyway? Everyone. The benefits for India to be seen as a space power range from regional and geostrategic influence vis-à-vis China, to raising the credibility of sophisticated space technology produced by Anthrix, the commercial arm of India’s Space Research Organization, credibility accompanied by potentially substantial economic returns. Additionally, India achieved its success reaching Mars i

Make in India- ISRO GSLV Mark-3 space launcher

ISRO GSLV Mark-3 ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / ISRO) In continuation of our weekly series to celebrate the Indian Government's "Make in India" initiative, we look at the GSLV Mark-3, India's newest a satellite launcher that is capable of launching 4 tonnes of satellite to the geostationary orbit. The launcher has been indigenously by India and when it becomes operational somewhere in later half of this decade, it will propel India and ISRO to the very top of the group in the world and also potentially garner billions of dollars of international business in satellite launch market. GSLV Mark-3 The GSLV-III or Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III  is a launch vehicle developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is intended to launch satellites into geostationary orbit and as a launcher for an Indian crew vehicle. The GSLV-III features an Indian cryogenic third stage and a higher payload capacity than the current

GSAT-6 slated for March launch ( Source- The Hindu)

GSAT ( Image Credits- ISRO) Source- The Hindu GSAT-6, the advanced communication satellite that got ISRO’s arm Antrix Corporation embroiled in a controversy with erstwhile partner Devas Multimedia P Ltd in 2011, is slated for a March 2015 launch. The S-band GSAT-6 satellite with five special transponders for multimedia services is “all done”, integrated and should start thermovacuum tests in late November, according to ISRO Satellite Centre’s Director, S.K.Shivakumar, whose centre readies all Indian spacecraft in Bangalore. The 2,000-odd-kg satellite is to be launched on a GSLV launcher from Sriharikota. It was conceived in 2005 along with a follow-on GSAT-6A. The Centre cancelled the contract with Devas in February 2011, reserved GSAT-6 for military use; thereby hangs a hefty arbitration case pressed by Devas in The Hague. Starting with GSAT-16 on December 5, ISRO has lined up a series of communication and Earth observation satellites over the next two or three y

India to launch unmanned crew module in December ( Source- The Economic Times)

GSLV ( Image Credits- ISRO) Source- The Economic Times India will launch an unmanned crew module in December onboard a heavy rocket to test its re-entry into the atmosphere for the country's future maiden human space flight, the space agency chief said Thursday. "We will send an unmanned crew module on the experimental GSLV-Mark III rocket in December and test its re-entry into the earth's atmosphere for a human space flight plan in future," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Radhakrishnan told reporters here on the margins of an engineers conclave. Weighing 3.6 tonnes, the crew module will be put into space orbit 100-120 km away in a satellite and brought back to earth for checking its re-entry characteristics when carrying two Indian astronauts in the proposed human space flight. "Though the actual human space flight will be in an orbit around earth at a height of 270 km for a week, the experimental flight with the crew

IRNSS 1C successfully launched by ISRO

IRNSS 1C successfully launched by PSLV C-26. Congratulations to ISRO. We are proud of you

India’s Impressive Space Program ( Source- The Diplomat, Author- Sudha Ramachandran)

GSLV- Mark II ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ ISRO) Source- The Diplomat Author- Sudha Ramachandran India recently made history, when its Mars Orbiter Mission successfully entered the Martian orbit. In doing so, it became the first country to enter Mars’ orbit on its first attempt and also the first Asian country to reach the red planet. Missions to Mars have rarely been successful. Before India’s Mangalyaan (Sanskrit for Mars-craft), only the United States, the Soviet Union, and Europe had entered Mars orbit. India is part of an elite club. What makes India’s Mars mission all the more remarkable is its low cost. With a price tag of just $70 million, it is the least expensive inter-planetary mission ever. The U.S. Maven orbiter, which arrived at Mars two days before Mangalyaan, cost NASA a whopping $671 million in comparison. Experts have pointed out that the enormous cost difference between Mangalyaan and Maven is because the Indian Mars-craft is far simp

Why India's Mars mission is so cheap - and thrilling ( Copy Right @ The BBC, Author- Jonathan Amos, BBC Science Correspondent)

The Mangalyaan satellite was confirmed to be in orbit shortly after 0800, Indian time. It is, without doubt, a considerable achievement. This is a mission that has been budgeted at 4.5bn rupees ($74m), which, by Western standards, is staggeringly cheap. The American Maven orbiter that arrived at the Red Planet on Monday is costing almost 10 times as much. Back in June, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi even quipped that India's real-life Martian adventure was costing less than the make-believe Hollywood film Gravity. Even Bollywood sci-fi movies like Ra.One cost a good chunk of what it has taken to get Mangalyaan to Mars. So how has India done it? For sure, people costs are less in this populous nation, and the scientists and engineers working on any space mission are always the largest part of the ticket price. Home-grown components and technologies have also been prioritised over expensive foreign imports. But, in addition, India has been careful to do th

India Becomes First Asian Country to Successfully Reach Mars ( Copy Right @ The Diplomat, Author- Akhilesh Pillalamarri)

ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission ( Image credits- Wikimedia commons/ Author) India’s  Mars Orbiter Mission  (MOM), more commonly known by the Hindi nickname Mangalyaan (meaning Mars-craft), reached Mars early Wednesday (Indian Standard Time). The probe went into orbit around Mars after it was  captured by Mars’ gravity  around 7:41 a.m. This marks the end of the spacecraft’s ten month journey, which began with its launch on November 5, 2013. Mangalyaan’s success makes India only the  fourth entity  to put a spacecraft in Mars’ orbit, after the United States, the Soviet Union, and the European Space Agency. India is the  first Asian country  to successfully place a spacecraft in orbit around Mars, and the first country anywhere to do so on its first attempt. A  previous Chinese attempt  to reach Mars failed in 2011. While Mangalyaan’s primary purpose was to serve as a demonstration that India could indeed reach Mars, it will also carry out valuable scientific research. It  contains  

INDIA MISSION TO MARS: READY TO ORBIT – ANALYSIS ( Copy Right @ The IDSA)

Mars Orbiter Mission ( Image credits- ISRO) The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched its maiden mission to Mars – the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) – on November 5, 2013. This mission is expected to reach the ‘Red Planet’ on September 24, 2014 after a ten month long space journey. Currently, the MOM is travelling at a speed of 22 km/second. After reaching close vicinity of Mars, this speed needs to be reduced significantly to make a correct entry into the planet’s orbit. The biggest challenge of this mission will be faced by the on September 24, when the on-board liquid engine would require restarting. This engine has been in sleep mode since December 1, 2013. The challenge is significant because there is no information as to what kind of space weather and radiation the MOM has experienced during its long travel and how much of impact the spacecraft has taken. ISRO has announced that on September 22, 2014, about two days before the crucial orbit insertion, it woul

Mars Orbiter Spacecraft's Main Liquid Engine Successfully Test Fired- ISRO Press release

Mars Orbiter Mission (Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- Nesnad The 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) of India's Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, last fired on December 01, 2013, was successfully fired for a duration of 3.968 seconds at 1430 hrs IST today (September 22, 2014). This operation of the spacecraft's main liquid engine was also used for the spacecraft's trajectory correction and changed its velocity by 2.18 metre/second. With this successful test firing, Mars Orbiter Insertion (MOI) operation of the spacecraft is scheduled to be performed on the morning of September 24, 2014 at 07:17:32 hrs IST by firing the LAM along with eight smaller liquid engines for a duration of about 24 minutes. Original link to the press release:  http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/scripts/pressreleasein.aspx?Sep22_2014

India's very own GPS Services Likely by Next Yr : ISRO ( Copy Right @ The New Indian Express)

A desi Global Positioning System (GPS) service is on the anvil and will be available from the middle of next year, according to a top scientist of the Indian space agency. “We will be able to offer our own indigenous GPS service with the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), being developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),” said Dr K Sivan, Director of ISRO’s Thiruvananthapuram-based Liquid Propulsion Systems Center. He disclosed this to the media on the sidelines of the 23rs convocation of the Thanthai Periyar Government institute of Technology here on Saturday. At present, India is making use of satellite services of other countries for the navigation applications using GPS. The IRNSS, developed by ISRO, would soon offer position information to users in India with accuracy for various applications such as mobile phones, terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation, disaster management etc . Out of the seven satellites planned, two have been already launche