By Elton Gomes
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is expected to fly its first small rocket sometime next year.
“The developmental work for our small rocket that can carry satellites weighing around 500 kg is on. The first flight of the small rocket is expected to happen sometime next year,” ISRO Chairman, K. Sivan told news agency IANS. Sivan added that the small rocket will be launched from India’s rocketport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
In a recent interaction with IANS in Bengaluru, S Rakesh, chairman and managing director of Antrix Corporation said that the low-cost small rocket will require a dedicated launch pad with a simple vertical launch mechanism. “Though SSLV will be initially launched from our rocketport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, we want to have a separate spaceport for it later,” Rakesh said.
ISRO to launch three more satellites for high-speed bandwidth connectivity
ISRO plans to launch three more satellites in an attempt to provide high-speed bandwidth connectivity to rural areas as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India programme.
Speaking to the media after India assisted the UK in successfully launching two satellites, ISRO Chairman K. Sivan said, “The ISRO will launch three more satellites, which together will provide international level bandwidth speed.”
Sivan added that ISRO had planned a number of launches over the next six months. Speaking about the highly anticipated moon mission, he said that the mission could start by next January. “The launch window for the Chandrayaan-2 mission is planned between January 3 and February 16, 2019. We are aiming for January 3. We do not expect any delay in the Chandrayaan-2 mission,” Sivan told IANS.
ISRO’s plans for 2019
ISRO seems fully prepared to enter the record books in 2019. The space organization plans to launch a record 22 missions in space. Announcing the line-up of launches for the upcoming year in Bengaluru, ISRO chairman Dr Sivan said that the organization will have a hectic schedule over the next one year.
ISRO also has ambitious plans to launch 50 satellites within the next three years. “We have identified 50 satellites that will be launched over the coming three years,” Sivan said, as per a Firstpost report. Sivan added that two launches will be planned every month starting from February 2019 — this, he said, will be a record in ISRO’s history. “The space agency has a tight schedule ahead, as we are targeting nine launches over the next five months and 22 missions from February to December in 2019, aiming at two per month,” he said, according to the Firstpost report.
Elton Gomes is a staff writer at Qrius
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