Page 20 - Isro

Isro scientist VR Lalithambika conferred highest French civilian award

V R Lalithambika, former Director, Directorate of the Human Spaceflight Programme, ISRO, was conferred the top French civilian honour of Lgion d'Honneur for her engagement in space cooperation between France and India. The award was given to her by Ambassador of France to India, Thierry Mathou, on behalf of the French government, here on Tuesday. Created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Lgion d'Honneur (the Legion of Honour) is the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipients. A specialist in advanced launch vehicle technology, Lalithambika, a distinguished scientist of ISRO, has worked extensively on various ISRO rockets, particularly the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), according to a press release issued by the Embassy of France in India. In 2018, as Director of the Human Spaceflight Programme, she coordinated closely with the French National Space Agency (Centre national d'tudes ..

Aditya L1 spacecraft nearing its final phase, says Isro Chief Somanath

Aditya L1 spacecraft, India's first space-based mission to study the Sun, is nearing its final phase, and maneuvers to enter the L1 point are expected to be completed by January 7, 2024, according to ISRO Chairman S Somanath. "Aditya is on the way. I think it has reached almost its final phase," the ISRO chief told PTI on the sidelines of an event organised at VSSC to commemorate the 60th year of the First Sounding Rocket Launch. He said that the last preparations for the spacecraft's entry into the L1 point are currently underway incrementally. "Possibly by January 7th, the final maneuvers will be done for entering into the L1 point," Somanath added. Aditya L1 was successfully launched on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The spacecraft, after travelling about 1.5 million km from Earth over 125 days, is expected to be placed in a Halo orbit around the Lagrangian point L1, considered closest to the Sun. Among other tasks, it will capture and .

Isro mission to bring soil samples from Moon to Earth: All details inside

ISRO is arranging an ambitious move that will see the national space agency attempting to gather soil or rock samples from the Moon and bring these to Earth, in what will be its first such mission

Isro and Nasa discuss potential opportunities in space exploration

The US space agency NASA and its Indian counterpart ISRO have held discussions on potential opportunities for future cooperation in space exploration. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Director Laurie Leshin visited the ISRO headquarters here and had a meeting with the Chairman of the Indian space agency and Secretary of the Department of Space, S Somanath. "Dr. Laurie Leshin expressed happiness over the joint efforts of JPL and ISRO officials working together as a single team at ISRO's U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in realising 'NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR)," Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO said. NISAR's readiness for launch and potential opportunities for future cooperation including professional exchange in technical areas and space exploration were also discussed during her visit on November 15, ISRO said. ISRO sources said the NISAR -- a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observatory being jointly developed by NASA and ISRO -- is expected to be launched from Sriharikota spaceport

Part of Chandrayaan-3 launch vehicle makes re-entry into Earth's atmosphere

The cryogenic upper stage of the LVM3 M4 launch vehicle, which successfully injected the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into the intended orbit on July 14 this year, made an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on Wednesday, the ISRO said. "The probable impact point was predicted over the North Pacific Ocean. The final ground track did not pass over India," the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement. This rocket body was part of the LVM-3 M4 launch vehicle, it said. It re-entered the Earth's atmosphere around 14:42 IST. The re-entry of the rocket body took place within 124 days of its launch. The post-mission orbital lifetime of the LVM3 M4 cryogenic upper stage is, thus, fully compliant with the "25-year rule" for low-Earth orbit objects as recommended by the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), the ISRO said. Post Chandrayaan-3 injection, the upper stage had also undergone "passivation" to remove all residual propellant and energ

Nasa, Isro gearing up to launch space mission to map globe every 12 days

The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is set to be launched in the first quarter of 2024 after a few tests, particularly those related to vibration, NASA officials have said. "ISRO is projecting the first quarter of next year. So, I mean, that's ready," NASA NISAR Project Manager Phil Barela said during a media interaction here on Wednesday. He is expecting the launch of NISAR (spelt as 'Naisar') "not earlier than January" from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota aboard the ISRO Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-II. The mission, which has three-year duration, aims to survey all of Earth's land and ice-covered surfaces every 12 days. This will start after a 90-day satellite commissioning period. Regarding the key tests that are pending to be undertaken, Barela said, "The vibration testing that's underway, but there's a whole slew of performance tests that we need to do." Battery and simulation tests have to be done to make sure that the system works fi

Isro Chairman S Somanath withdraws publishing of his autobiography

ISRO Chairman S Somanath on Saturday said he was withdrawing from the publishing of his upcoming autobiography, after a controversy erupted over some of his alleged critical remarks about his predecessor K Sivan in the book. Somanath confirmed that he had decided to withdraw the publication of the book 'Nilavu Kudicha Simhangal' (loosely translated as - Lions that drank the moonlight), in the light of the controversy. Earlier in the day, talking to PTI, he said every person would have to go through some kind of challenges during their journey to reach a top position in an organisation. Somanath was responding to a report that claimed his autobiography had some critical remarks about his predecessor Sivan. "Persons holding such key positions may have to go through several challenges. One among them is the challenges with regard to getting positions in an organisation," he said, adding that these are challenges that everybody has to go through. "More persons might be eligible for a

Haven't targeted anyone in autobiography, says ISRO chief Somanath

ISRO Chairman S Somanath on Saturday said every person would have to go through one some kind of challenges during their journey to reach a top position in an organisation, and that he also came across such difficulties in life. He said he mentioned some of the challenges he had faced during his decades-long journey in the space agency in his upcoming autobiography, "Nilavu Kudicha Simhangal," (loosely translated as - Lions that drank the moonlight). "But that is not against any particular individual," he told PTI. Somanath was responding to a report that claimed his autobiography had some critical remarks about his predecessor K Sivan. "Persons holding such key positions may have to go through several challenges. One among them is the challenges with regard to getting positions in an organisation," he said. These are challenges that everybody has to go through. "More persons might be eligible for a significant post. I just tried to bring out that particular point. I didn't targe

Tech-powered aspirations for Amrit Kaal

A decadal calendar of multiple such technology-powered goals for Amrit Kaal may be essential if Bharat is to realise the Prime Minister's vision of becoming a developed nation by 2047

India's research riddle

It has the highest public sector budget for research in the world as a share of GDP, but the private sector lags way behind

Karnataka Rajyotsava Awards: Check the complete list of awardees here

Karnataka government has awarded the Rajyotsava award to 68 people including ISRO Chairman S Somanath and golfer Aditi Ashok. Here's the complete list

Isro chief S Somanath expresses wish for more female representation

Acknowledging his spiritual inclination, the Isro chairman engaged in prayers on Vijayadashami day

Nothing impossible for India today: PM Modi on Gaganyaan test success

Nothing is impossible for India today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said hours after the completion of a key test in the country's ambitious human space flight mission Gaganyaan, and averred that his government was working with a long-term vision since it came to power. Several "pending" works such as the abrogation of Article 370, banning of triple talaq and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax have been accomplished in the last ten years, he said, speaking at the 125th foundation day of The Scindia School here. He also praised the contribution of the Scindia family, the erstwhile rulers of the Gwalior state. Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is the president of the school's Board of Governors, was also present. I became prime minister in 2014. After that our government started work with a long-term vision. Our government has abrogated Article 370, (a task) which was pending for 60 years, implemented One Rank One Pension scheme (for defence forces) and GS

LIVE: Air quality likely to worsen; Grap stage 2 enforced in Delhi

Catch all the latest updates LIVE from around the world here

Gaganyaan test flight: Crew module recovered, data looks good, says Isro

The crew module has been fully recovered from the sea (Bay of Bengal) and it has been brought to Chennai port, Isro chief said

Kharge congratulates Isro for successfully conducting test vehicle mission

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday for successfully conducting the test vehicle mission ahead of the human space flight programme. In a post on X, Kharge said the country's human space flight programme has been in the works since 2007 and expressed happiness that it is moving towards achieving its goal. "Our best wishes to all the scientists, space engineers, crew and researchers at ISRO for the success of Gaganyaan test flight mission (TV-D1)," he said. "India's human space flight programme has been in the works since 2007 and after decades of rigorous hard work and dedication we are advancing towards that goal," he said. Overcoming initial hiccups, including a monitoring anomaly, the ISRO on Saturday successfully launched a test vehicle with payloads related to the country's ambitious human space flight programme, Gaganyaan. Scientists simulated an abort situation for the Crew Escape System (CES) to carry

Shows ambition, capability of India: British envoy on Isro's success

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath on Saturday announced the success of the 'TV-D1' (Test Vehicle Development Flight 1) in the Gaganyaan Mission

India a step closer to realising 1st human space flight programme: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that ISRO's successful launch of a test vehicle as part of its Gaganyaan mission takes India a step closer to realising its first human space flight programme. In a post on X, he said, "This launch takes us one step closer to realising India's first human space flight program, Gaganyaan. My best wishes to our scientists at ISRO." Overcoming initial hiccups, including a monitoring anomaly, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday successfully launched a test vehicle with payloads related to the country's ambitious human space flight programme, Gaganyaan. Scientists simulated an abort situation for the Crew Escape System (CES) to carry the Crew Module out of the test vehicle, TV-D1, as they made a splash into the Bay of Bengal with planned precision, setting off jubilation among ISRO scientists at the Mission Control Center.

Gaganyaan: ISRO fixes glitch as test flight lifts off successfully

Nerves gave way to smiles at the spaceport here as delays and an anomaly-triggered 'hold' forced ISRO scientists to revise the launch schedule of a test vehicle carrying payloads related to the country's ambitious human space flight mission, Gaganyaan which soared into skies after initial hiccups. Following a two hour delay and nerve-wracking moments after the engine of TV-D1 failed to ignite initially, ISRO scientists put the mission on course 75 minutes later when they launched the rocket with precision and achieved the goal of Crew Module and Crew Escape separation that was welcomed with loud cheers at the Mission Control Center here. TV D1 Mission was fully achieved, ISRO announced. The payloads later splashed into the sea as planned, a development that witnessed jubilation. Gaganyaan programme aims to send humans into space on a Low Earth Orbit of 400 km for three days and bring them safely back to the Earth. Initially slated for 8 am, the launch suffered delays twice, totali

Gaganyaan mission: ISRO announces revised rocket launch scheduled for 10 am

Minutes after an anomaly forced a hold of its launch, the Test Vehicle carrying payloads related to the Gaganyaan human space flight programme would be fired again on Saturday at 10 am, the ISRO announced. "Reason for the launch hold is identified and corrected. The launch is planned at 10:00 Hrs. today," ISRO said in an update on 'X.