ISRO has targeted to launch the first mission of the ambitious Gaganyaan project by December, a top official said here on Friday. Currently, some of the rocket hardware for the human space programme has reached the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here and the integration of the crew module was going on at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum, ISRO Chairman S Somanath said. "Today, we are working on the first mission of the Gaganyaan called G1. The first unmanned mission. The status today is the rocket, the S200 stage, the L1, C32 stage are all at Satish Dhawan Space Centre," he said. He said the Crew Module integration was going on at VSSC Trivandrum while Crew Escape hardware was also ready. "So, we have to complete with full wiring and testing should be done. Our target is by November the whole system will reach here, possibly by December launch will happen," he said, responding to a query. Somanath was talking to reporters after successfully launching the third and final ..
Isro said that the LV-D3-EOS-08 mission has two main objectives: to develop a microsatellite and create payload instruments compatible with this microsatellite bus
The countdown for the launch of an earth observation satellite, onboard the third and final development flight of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle-03 commenced on Friday, ISRO said. The SSLV-D3-EOS-08 mission follows the second successful launch of the second test flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2-EOS-07) in February 2023. Today's mission is the third for the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency in 2024, after the successful PSLV-C58/XpoSat in January and GSLV-F14/INSAT-3DS missions in February. In an update on Friday, ISRO said, "SSLV-D3-EOS-08 Mission -- Six-and-a-half-hour countdown leading to the launch commenced at 02.47 hrs IST". The smallest SSLV rocket, which measures about 34 metre in height, was planned to be launched on August 15 at 9.17 am and was later rescheduled to August 16, at 9.19 am from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre here. The primary objectives of the SSLV-D3-EOS-08 mission include designing and developing a microsatellite
The 175.5 kg EOS-08 satellite, designed to generate 420 W of power, was originally scheduled to take off on August 15, aligning with India's Independence Day celebrations
In view of the recent natural disasters like the landslide in Kerala, where many people are trapped under debris, ISRO chairman S Somanath on Saturday said only a certain depth of filtration is possible with space technology and could not be relied on for finding those people. The ISRO chief was answering a question in this regard in the outreach programme organised by ISRO, #asksomanatisro on Instagram. There are limitations of space-based sensors to locate objects that are buried under debris, which is currently an issue. It is not possible to detect what is deep under the ground from space. A certain depth of filtration is always possible by radar signals, but it is not possible to find, say, underground channels or petroleum deposits and deep minerals, added Somanath. Answering another question during #asksomanathisro, on the Space Flight Agreement with NASA-identified service provider announced on August 2, through which two Gaganyatris' will train to be backup mission pilots,
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair have been selected for an upcoming Indo-US mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Friday. This has been done on the recommendation of the NASA-identified service provider Axiom Space Inc, sources in the ISRO told PTI. In an official release, the ISRO said its Human Space Flight Centre has entered into a space flight agreement with US' Axiom Space Inc, for its fourth mission to the ISS and a National Mission Assignment Board has "recommended two 'gaganyatris' (space travellers) --Group Captain Shukla (prime) and Group Captain Nair (backup)". "The assigned crewmembers will be finally approved to fly to the International Space Station by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP). The recommended gaganyatris will commence their training for the mission from the first week of August 2024," ISRO said. During the mission, the 'gaganyatris'
The historic success of ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon has captured the attention of several startups to tap the Indian space sector, said former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan. Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries TRB Rajaa said the achievements of space scientists and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) should be celebrated. Rajaa and former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan took part in the launch of space technology accelerator "Vaanam" (Tamil word meaning sky) backed by its co-founders Sameer Bharat Ram and Hariharan Vedamurthy, on Wednesday. The space tech aims to nurture startups in the space sector by offering its expertise including seed fundings among others. "We are evaluating about 6 startups this year (to offer its expertise)", Ram said. According to him, the Indian space economy pegged at USD 13 billion is expected to touch USD 44 billion in 10 years. Ram said Nambi Narayanan and actor Madhavan, who played the role of Narayanan himself, in the multilingua
India is preparing to send an astronaut to the International Space Station as part of a collaborative mission with Nasa and Axiom Space, Union Minister Jitendra Singh informed the Lok Sabha
The astronaut duo will start training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Texas in August this year; one of the two astronauts will join the upcoming Indo-US space mission to the ISS
Space agency ISRO on Sunday said it has achieved a third consecutive success in the Reusable Launch Vehicle Landing Experiment by demonstrating the autonomous landing capability of the launch vehicle under more challenging conditions. This mission simulated the approach and landing interface and high-speed landing conditions for a vehicle returning from space, reaffirming the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) expertise in acquiring the most critical technologies required for the development of a Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV), the space agency said. The third and final test in the series of Landing Experiment (LEX-03) was conducted at 07:10 1ST at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Chitradurga, Karnataka. Following the success of the RLV LEX-01 and LEX-02 missions, ISRO in a release said, RLV LEX-03 re-demonstrated the autonomous landing capability of the RLV under more challenging release conditions (cross range of 500 m against 150 m for LEX-02) and more severe wind ...
India and the US on Monday said they concluded the Strategic Framework for Human Spaceflight Cooperation to deepen interoperability in space and are working toward commencing advanced training for ISRO astronauts at the NASA Johnson Space Center. A fact-sheet issued by the US and India after the iCET Dialogue between US National Security Adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said the two sides are also exploring opportunities to participate in the Lunar Gateway Programme. The Lunar Gateway Programme aims to build a space station around the moon as part of the collaborative Artemis programme spearheaded by the US. The fact-sheet said the talks between the two NSAs explored opportunities for India's participation in the Lunar Gateway Programme, as well as joint avenues for collaboration in other space technologies. The two leaders also exchanged views on securing a carrier for the first-ever joint effort between NASA and Indian Space Research Organisati
Agnibaan is a two-stage launch vehicle capable of carrying up to 100 kilograms of payload to an extent of around 700 km to low earth orbit
Space sector is expected to get $25 bn in investments in 10 years, says Pawan Goenka, chairman of the commercial arm of Isro
During his visit to Bengaluru, Garcetti also spoke with industry leaders and members of the American Chamber of Commerce India
NASA will soon provide advanced training to Indian astronauts, with the goal of mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station, a top American diplomat said Friday.? US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti made these remarks while speaking at the "US-India Commercial Space Conference: Unlocking Opportunities for US & Indian Space Startups," hosted by the US-India Business Council (USIBC) and the US Commercial Service (USCS) in Bangalore. NASA will soon provide advanced training to Indian astronauts, with the goal of mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station, hopefully, this year or shortly thereafter, which was one of the promises of our leaders' visit together. And soon we will launch the NISAR satellite from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Center to monitor all resources, including ecosystems, the Earth's surface, natural hazards, sea level rise, and the cryosphere, Garcetti said, according to a USIBC press statement issued here. You see whether it's the ...
US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti has proposed to develop a "QUAD satellite" involving the partnership of India and the US. During his official trip to Bengaluru on Friday, he visited the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) headquarters and met with Chairman S Somanath and discussed the ongoing cooperation between India and the US in the field of space. In a statement, the space agency said the US Ambassador proposed the development of a "QUAD satellite". During the meeting, the ISRO chairman pointed to the opportunity to develop advanced detectors and packaging technologies with US-India academic institutions. He also emphasised the importance of building and standardising docking interfaces across human space programs to enable the utilization of space platforms by other countries and joining hands to build a navigation system on the moon, either in orbit or on the surface. Taking to 'X', Garcetti on Saturday shared how he was honoured to meet the ISRO Chairman and how
Senior defence officials from India and the US have met here to discuss opportunities to strengthen space cooperation and identified potential areas for collaboration with the American industry, the Pentagon said Friday. Meeting for the second annual US-India Advanced Domains Defence Dialogue (AD3), the officials discussed a wide range of bilateral cooperation. The American team was led by Vipin Narang, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defence for Space Policy, and the visiting Indian delegation was led by Vishwesh Negi, India's Joint Secretary for International Cooperation. During this year's Dialogue, Narang and Negi discussed opportunities to strengthen space cooperation and identified potential areas for collaboration with US industry, said Department of Defence Spokesperson Cmdr. Jessica Anderson. Among a group of US and Indian defence officials, the two co-chaired the first US-India principal-level tabletop discussion that explored areas to enhance cooperation in the space ...
India's space agency, ISRO, is gearing up for a historic milestone: a mission to land a rover and helicopter on Mars, a feat achieved only by the US and China so far
After the airdrop test on April 24, two more uncrewed missions are slated for 2025, leading up to the manned mission by the end of the next year, pending successful operations
ISRO Chairman S Somanath on Tuesday announced that India aims to achieve debris-free space missions by 2030. Addressing the 42nd Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) annual meet here, he said ISRO has a very clearly laid out plan as far as space exploration and space utilisation are concerned for the coming days. "It is one of the intent or initiative of India to ensure that debris-free space missions are conducted so as to ensure the sustainability of space. I would like to make this initiative a declaration today, possibly this can be discussed and debated in the coming days," Somanath, also Secretary in the Department of Space, said. "This initiative aims to achieve debris-free space missions by all Indian space actors, governmental and non-governmental, by 2030. India also encourages all state space actors to follow this initiative for long-term sustainability of outer space," he said. "Currently, we have 54 spacecraft in orbit, plus there are non-functional .