Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), May 29 (UNI): Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S. Somanath said on Monday India’s spaceport of Sriharikota is abuzz with activity as the space agency has lined up a series of missions in the coming months.
Talking to reporters after GSLV-F12 successfully launched India’s first in the series of second Generational Navigation satellite NVS-01 into a precise orbit, he said ISRO will be having a busy year ahead as it will be taking up a series of missions with PSLV, GSLV, the heaviest rocket LVM and the SSLV.
The missions included the third Lunar Mission Chandrayaan-3 in July, INSAT-3DS satellite, besides the ISRO-NASA NISAR satellite mission. The INSAT-3DS satellite will be launched using the heavy GSLV rocket.
Apart from this, the rocket crew escape systems ahead of the maiden human flight mission, Gagayaan will be tested in July which will be followed by two unmanned missions.
“We are getting ready for the test vehicle mission. We have to get the crew module and crew escape system. By July we will integrate the systems with the rocket,” Dr Somanath said.
The safety systems of the crew module and the crew escape system will be tested at an altitude of about 14 km. On the second spaceport, which is coming up at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, he said 99 per cent of land acquisition was bee completed and the lands for the approach roads are to be acquired.
Dr Somanath said works were on in designing a new rocket that could carry much higher payloads, besides upgrading the LVM3 rocket to carry heavier satellites that could weigh up to 5.5 ton from the present 4 ton capacity.
