Chennai (The Hawk): According to S. Somanath, chairman of India's leading space agency and Secretary, Space, Government of India, the coming year will be important for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in particular and for the space industry.
The Indian space agency is considering a number of significant space missions, including the Chandrayaan-3 Moon Mission, test flights and unmanned rocket flights for the Gaganyaan human space mission, the launch of the Aditya L1 satellite or the Sun Mission, the joint Indo-US NISAR satellite launch, the launch of 36 OneWeb satellites for a fee, the second flight of its small rocket, the development of new rocket architecture, and others.
In addition, a legislation governing the industry is anticipated to be passed by the central government next year, and the private actors will also prepare their satellites and rockets.
"The ISRO will investigate how to create better systems. The space agency will concentrate on creating more affordable new generation rockets. The organisation will build a new rocket architecture "Somanath stated in an interview with IANS.
According to the general trend, the ISRO will also consider establishing a constellation of satellites for imaging.
Somanath asserts that the Space Policy must first be established before the Space Bill. With numerous Ministries, the draught Bill is currently being discussed.
He mentioned the space missions to IANS, mentioning the launch of 36 satellites for the UK-based OneWeb. LVM3 rocket from ISRO will launch the satellites (formerly Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mk3).
The launch in June or July is crucial for the coveted Chandrayaan-3 mission, which is also planned for 2023. Next year, ISRO intends to launch NavIC and attempt a second navigation satellite, according to Somanath.
He stated that the ISRO intends to launch its satellite Aditya-L1, a coronagraphy spacecraft to investigate the solar atmosphere, to the sun with a PSLV rocket next year.
The spacecraft will be positioned in a halo orbit, or L1, which is the first Lagrange point in the Sun-Earth system, according to the ISRO.
The main benefit of orbiting a satellite near the L1 point is that it can observe the Sun continually without being obscured by clouds or eclipses.
Next year, ISRO intends to test-fly two rockets and conduct an unmanned rocket mission as part of Gaganyaan.
Somanath stated that the satellite will launch next year to the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) Mission, an Indo-US collaboration.
In January or February of the next year, "the NISAR satellite is anticipated to be flagged off from the US to India," Somanath said.
He claims that the ISRO intends to launch several of its brand-new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) rockets in 2019.
For the second SSLV rocket launch, the space agency must build a satellite. In 2022, the first mission that took place was unsuccessful.
According to Somanath, there have been a lot of inquiries about using SSLV and increasing output is being considered.
The semi-cryogenic engine that the ISRO plans to use to power the rockets will reportedly undergo testing in 2023.
"To launch one NavIC satellite in February of next year, we are attempting to obtain approval from the Indian government. We're also keeping an eye on the long-term strategy. To replace the current NavIC satellites, five more are being built. For civilian use, the five satellites will have a new frequency. Additionally, communication security has been strengthened for use by the strategic sectors "added Somanath.
As the air force helicopter was not available in 2022 to lift and release the same from the appropriate height, ISRO would test land its reusable launch vehicle (RLV) in 2023.
(Inputs from Agencies)