From PSLV-C31 to PSLV-C36 launch: Isro's missions in 2016

<i>Business Standard</i> brings to you a list of important launch made by Isro this year

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The year 2016 was very important for the Indian space programme which scored prominent and significant successes in the launch vehicle, satellite, applications and space exploration domains.

This year also saw two successful advanced launch vehicle technology initiatives of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) - the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) and Scramjet technology demonstrator - which had their maiden test flights.
 

This list below compiles some of the important launch made by Isro in 2016:

December 7
RESOURCESAT-2A 

Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has launched its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C36, carrying a remote sensing satellite, RESOURCESAT-2A, on 7 December 2016. 
 

• The satellite will aid in natural resource management. 
 

• This is the 37th successful mission in a row of the PSLV series. 
 

• The number of satellites launched by PSLV is now 122, of which 43 are Indian and the other 79 are from abroad.

October 6

GSAT-18

GSAT-18 communication satellite was successfully launched by the European Ariane 5 VA-231, on October 6, from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana.

• GSAT-18 will provide telecommunications services for India, strengthening Isro’s current fleet of 14 operational telecom satellites.

• After a flight of 32 minutes and 28 seconds, GSAT-18 separated from the Ariane 5 upper stage in an elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 251.7 km and an apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 35,888 km, inclined at an angle of 6 degree to the equator.

• The 3,404 kg GSAT-18 carries 48 communication transponders in C-band, upper extended C-band and Ku-band for providing various services to the country.

September 26 

SCATSAT-1

Indian Space Research Organisation's satellite launching workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has lifted off successfully with eight satellites. The vehicle was launched from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
 

• PSLV-C35 has successfully launched SCATSAT-1, a satellite for weather-related studies in its orbit. 
 

• This is the first mission of PSLV in which it will be launching its payloads into two different orbits.
 

• The PSLV-C35 is carrying SCATSAT-1 for weather-related studies, five foreign satellites and two satellites from Indian academic institutes to its orbits.

September 8

INSAT-3DR

An Indian rocket with an over two tonne INSAT-3DR advanced weather satellite blasted off from the Sriharikota spaceport in Sriharikota on September 8. At precisely 4.50 p.m. the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Development 5 (GSLV-F05) rose into the sky with a deep growl, breaking free from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here. 
 

• The launch was delayed for 40 minutes due to a delay in fuelling the rocket's third stage.
 

• The 49.1-metre tall rocket, weighing 415.2 tonne rapidly rose towards the blue sky, spewing a thick orange plume.
 

• The rocket would sling the INSAT-3DR satellite, which can also aid in search and rescue (SAR) operations, into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) around 17 minutes into the flight.

August 28

Scramjet Engine Technology Demonstrator

The first experimental mission of Isro’s Scramjet Engine towards the realisation of an Air Breathing Propulsion System was successfully conducted on August 28 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.

• After a flight of about 300 seconds, the vehicle touched down in the Bay of Bengal, approximately 320 km from Sriharikota.
 

• The vehicle was successfully tracked during its flight from the ground stations at Sriharikota.
 

• India is the fourth country to demonstrate the flight testing of Scramjet Engine after the US, Russia and European Space Agency.

June 22

PSLV-C34

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, PSLV-C34, a reliable workhorse of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), launched 20 satellites into orbits on June 22. The success of the mission is expected to help the space agency get more orders from across the world, boosting its commercial operations.
 

• This is the thirty-fifth consecutively successful mission of PSLV and the fourteenth in its 'XL' configuration.
 

• The total weight of all the 20 satellites carried onboard PSLV-C34 was 1288 kg.
 

• Isro is making a consortium with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Godrej Aerospace and Larson and Toubro to assemble and launch PSLV rockets by 2020 for local needs and to tap global customers.

May 23

RLV-TD

Isro successfully flight tested India’s first winged body aerospace vehicle operating in hypersonic flight regime. In this experimental mission, the HS9 solid rocket booster carrying RLV-TD lifted off from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota on May 23.
 

• The RLV-TD, that is ultimately aimed at putting satellites into orbit around the Earth and then re-enter atmosphere after reaching the height of over 70 km, was carried up on a solid rocket motor.
 

• The nine-metre-long rocket weighs 11 tonnes. Very similar in its looks to the US space shuttle, the double delta-winged RLV-TD being experimented is a scale model which is almost 6 times smaller than the final version.
 

• The 6.5 m long aeroplane like structure weighs 1.75 tonnes and was hoisted into the atmosphere on the special rocket booster.

April 28 

IRNSS-1G 

In its thirty-fifth flight (PSLV-C33), Isro's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle has successfully launched the 1425 kg IRNSS-1G, the seventh satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)  from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. 
 

• This is the thirty-fourth consecutively successful mission of PSLV and the thirteenth in its 'XL' configuration.
 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi terms PSLV-C33 launch as an example of 'Make in India'.
 

• IRNSS-1G is the seventh of the seven satellites constituting the space segment of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System.

March 11

IRNSS-1F

The Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully launched Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C32), which was carrying India's sixth navigation satellite IRNSS-1F with its own rocket.

• The IRNSS will provide two types of services -- standard positioning service and restricted service.
 

• Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) system consist of a constellation of seven satellites of which five were already put into orbit.
 

• The rocket was carrying 1,425 kg IRNSS-1F satellite.

January 20 

IRNSS-1E

Isro's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C31, successfully has launched the 1425 kg IRNSS-1E, the fifth satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) on January 20 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. 
 

• This is the thirty-second consecutively successful mission of PSLV and the eleventh in its 'XL' configuration.
 

• IRNSS-1E is the fifth of the seven satellites constituting the space segment of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System.
 

• IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. 

Source: Isro